In 1981, David had his first number one country hit with ‘You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma’, duetting with Shelly West, daughter of country star Dottie West. The song won the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year and Vocal Duet of the Year. It was also nominated for a Grammy and featured in the Clint Eastwood movie Any Which Way You Can. 

David and Shelly also won the Academy of Country Music award for Vocal Duo of the Year in 1981 and 1982. In 1981, David had another number one on the country chart with his solo single ‘I’m Gonna Hire a Wino to Decorate Our Home’. Between 1981 and 1984 he had five hit country albums with Shelly West and two solo albums, and the duo toured regularly up until Shelly’s retirement in 2015.

In 2013, David Frizzell breathed new life into the Buddy Holly songs he sang as a boy, when the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation invited him to produce a very special album dedicated to the music of Buddy Holly and the Crickets. David kindly agreed, gathered some wonderful country artists, including Sonny Curtis, T. Graham Brown, Helen Cornelius, Jimmy Fortune and Merle Haggard, and created The Buddy Holly Country Tribute: Remember Me.