- Country music singer, guitarist and songwriter born in 1952 in Poteet Texas, and raised in Pearsall Texas.
- Strait played in a rock and roll garage band while in high school, and in college he joined a country band. He quickly became the leader of the band, naming it the Ace in the Hole Band, playing at local bars in central and south Texas. They recorded several songs written by Strait, but nothing was released nationally. He became friends with one of the owners of a bar where they performed. The owner had connections with Nashville record labels, so some Nashville talent scouts came to Texas to watch the band, but initially, no one was interested in signing the act. Strait then traveled to Nashville, meeting with every label, but he was rejected. He announced his intent to give up on music, but after his wife convinced him to try one more year, MCA Records signed him to a one song deal. If the song was successful, they would consider an album.
- Strait launched a solo career, with Ace in the Hole as the backup band. In 1981, he released his single, Unwound. It reached #6 on the country chart. His debut album quickly followed – Strait Country. It sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. – the first of 18 consecutive platinum or multi-platinum albums, and 1 of 33 albums that have gone platinum. Strait was embraced by country music fans that wanted a fresh but traditional sound, rather than the pop-influenced country music that was prevalent at the time.
- He released 1 studio album each year from 1981 to 1994 – 9 of these albums topped the country album chart, and 27 singles were #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart. In 1995, he released a box set compilation album, called Strait Out of the Box, that contained 4 albums worth of music, including some new songs. It was certified 8x platinum (4 discs, so sales of 2 million box sets), one of the highest selling box sets in music history. It included the song Check Yes or No, continuing his string of #1 hits.
- From 1996 to 2001, more studio albums were released each year. Each album reached #1 except one, which peaked at #2, and 10 more #1 songs were released. After taking a year off from releasing new music, Strait released Honkeytonkville in 2003, and he has released 7 more albums up to the present day. Of course – every album hit #1 on the country charts, and 6 more songs reached #1.
- In 1992, Strait starred in the musical western film Pure Country. While the film bombed, the soundtrack became Strait’s best selling album, selling over 6 million records in the U.S. Songs from the album that topped the country chart were I Cross My Heart and Heartland.
- Strait has had some crossover success – his highest charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 was in 2002, with She’ll Leave You With a Smile – the song reached #23 on the Hot 100. Some of his best selling singles have been in more recent years. 2012’s Give It All We Got Tonight was his first certified digital platinum single.
- Strait has only won 1 Grammy award (with 16 nominations) – His Troubadour album won Best Country Album in 2008.
- It’s safe to say the MCA Records made a good investment with George Strait. Every record since 1981 has been with MCA. Here are the stats: 45 #1 songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart (more than any other artist); more #1 hits than any other artist in any other genre; the only artist to have a top 10 hit for 30 consecutive years (the streak was broken in 2012); 86 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country songs chart (second only to Eddy Arnold, who had 92); third most platinum or gold albums in the history of music (trailing Elvis Presley and The Beatles); 11th highest selling artist of all time in the U.S. across all genres; and the record for the most CMA awards, at 22. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006.
- It is good to listen to old time country music. So much country music today is pop music with a steel guitar. George is having a great run with old time country – he promises that he won’t change. Watch the video to his song Troubadour, the title track from the Grammy award winning album.
George Strait is a legend. Went to his last concert tour when he was in St Paul MN. The crowds sang all of his songs and he just smiled on stage. Troubadour was one of the songs….
Gentleman George is an all time great!