Songfacts®:

• David Haerle runs the Los Angeles label CMH Records (CMH = Country Music Heritage) and is also a recording artist. "The Groove Of The Record" is a track from his second album, Death Valley. He told Songfacts the story behind it:
  
  "I was at a storytelling event called Strong Words and curator/writer Larry Dean Harris shared a story called "New York Subway." There is a line that goes, 'And the groove of the record was worn and was weary,' which jumped right out to me. I almost immediately thought that would be great in a song. See, I am in recovery from OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) so I have plenty of experience getting stuck in a groove. Repeating rituals that once worked or seemed to work but have now become self-defeating or even destructive. This song touches on the ways we all get stuck in our lives and how at a certain point we have to reach for a new record. For me, I do my best to try new behavior in the face of self-defeating patterns. That new behavior is almost always highly uncomfortable or anxiety producing – at first. But I've found that such feelings subside over time, and it often creates a better life. Thank you Larry for providing inspiration."