Clint Eastwood is best known as one of Hollywood's most successful actors, but he also had a lesser-known career as a musician, beginning with a country album released in 1967. Rawhide's Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites was his first of four records, named after the television series that ran from 1959 to 1965 and made him a star. It took a further 30 years before he released another album, showing that music remained a minor, occasional pursuit alongside his film career.

The 1967 album featured songs including "Cowboy Wedding Song" and "Rowdy", both released as singles, though neither charted. Eastwood's other country ties include "Bar Room Buddies", a 1980 duet with Merle Haggard for the Bronco Billy soundtrack that became his only number-one single, and "Beers To You" with Ray Charles from the same film. Perhaps his most significant, if unintentional, influence on the genre came when he inspired Toby Keith's 2018 song "Don't Let The Old Man In", after telling Keith he avoids ageing by refusing to "let the old man in" — a track later used in Eastwood's film The Mule.