George Strait
George Harvey Strait Sr. is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, music producer, and rancher.
Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds the RIAA record for most certified albums by any artist, with 33 different albums that are certified platinum or gold. Considering singles and albums, he has a total of 20 multi-platinum, 33 platinum and 24 gold certifications. According to the RIAA, Strait is the 12th best-selling album recording artist in the United States overall selling over 70 million records across the United States.
He is credited for pioneering the neotraditional country style in the 1980s, famed for his authentic cowboy image and roots-oriented sound at a time when the Nashville music industry was dominated by country pop crossover acts. Given his influence on the genre, Strait has been nicknamed the "King of Country Music" by writers and music critics. He currently holds the record for the most number one songs on all charts by an artist, in any genre of music, including a record 44 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. He has been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards, winning his first and only award for Best Country Album in 2009 with his album Troubadour.
Strait's career in country music began performing with his band Ace in the Hole in Texas honky-tonks in the 1970s, recording tracks for the Houston-based independent record label D Records. While working on ranches across Texas in his 20s during the day, Strait performed with the Ace in the Hole during nights and the weekend. By the late 1970s, Strait caught the interest of former MCA Records executive Erv Woosley, who became Strait's longtime manager and helped him with signing to MCA Records.
Strait's commercial success began when his first major label single "Unwound" was a minor hit in 1981 and scored his first number one country radio hit with "Fool Hearted Memory" in 1982, introducing the neotraditional country style to the mainstream. During the 1980s, seven of his albums reached number one on the country charts. In the 2000s, he was named Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music, elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and won his first Grammy award. Strait was named CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1989, 1990 and 2013, and ACM Entertainer of the Year in 1990 and 2014. He has been nominated for more CMA and ACM awards and has more wins in both categories than any other artist.
Strait became known for his touring career after he designed a 360-degree configuration and introduced festival style tours. His final concert, for The Cowboy Rides Away Tour at AT&T Stadium, drew 104,793 people, setting a new record for the largest indoor concert in North America. In mid-2024, Strait set the record for the largest ticketed concert for a single act in U.S. history, with over 110,905 people at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. He additionally was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the same year for its class of 2025.
Early life
George Harvey Strait was born on May 18, 1952, in Poteet, Texas, to John Byron Strait Sr., and Doris Jean Couser. He is a second cousin of Jackie Bezos, mother of billionaire businessman Jeff Bezos.He grew up in nearby Pearsall, in Frio County, where his father was a junior high school mathematics teacher and the owner of a cattle ranch outside of Big Wells, Texas. The family worked at the ranch on the weekends and in the summers. When George was in the fourth grade, his father and mother were divorced, and his mother moved away with his sister, Pency. George and his brother John "Buddy" Jr. grew up with their father. For most of his early life, George was in ranching alongside his older brother Buddy and his father John.
Strait began his musical career while attending Pearsall High School, where he performed in a rock and roll garage band, known as the Stoics, taking most of their influence and inspiration from the Beatles and other British Invasion-era rock groups. "The Beatles were big," Strait confirmed. "I listened to them a lot and that whole bunch of groups that were popular then." He performed in other rock bands during his high school tenure. His musical preference soon turned to country with singers Hank Thompson, Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, and Frank Sinatra influencing his style. Strait did not tune in to and listen to country music radio often as a youth, usually selecting the news and the farmer's report instead. His introduction to country music came mostly by way of live performances, which according to Strait could be heard in every town in Texas.
Marriage and military service
He eloped with his high school sweetheart, Norma Voss after their high school graduation. The couple initially married in Mexico on December 4, 1971. In the same year, he enlisted in the United States Army as an infantryman. While stationed at Schofield Barracks adjacent to Wahiawa, Hawaii, as part of the 25th Infantry Division, George auditioned and began performing with an Army-sponsored country music band, Rambling Country, which also played off-base under the name Santee. On October 6, 1972, while still in Hawaii, George and Norma had their first child, Jenifer. He served in the United States Army from 1971 to 1975 and ultimately attained the rank of corporal.Higher education
After George Strait was honorably discharged from the Army in 1975, he enrolled at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. He graduated with a degree in agriculture. He was also presented an honorary doctoral degree by his alma mater, Texas State University in San Marcos, in a private ceremony on May 26, 2006. Strait is a loyal alumnus of the college; in 1985 he established an endowment fund for the development and operation of the Freeman Ranch for agricultural purposes, land and wildlife management, and gifts of scholarships.Music career
1970s
During his college years, Strait joined the country band Stoney Ridge, answering a flyer the band posted around campus looking for a new vocalist. Strait renamed the group the Ace in the Hole Band, and quickly became the lead; they began to perform at different honky-tonks and bars around south and central Texas, traveling as far east as Huntsville and Houston. They gained a regional following and opened for national acts such as the Texas Playboys and Asleep at the Wheel. Soon his band was given the opportunity to record several Strait-penned singles, including "That Don't Change The Way I Feel About You" and "I Can't Go On Dying Like This" for the Houston-based D Records independent label. However, the songs never achieved wide recognition, and Strait continued to manage his family cattle ranch during the day to make some extra cash.File:Asleep at the Wheel 1976.JPG|thumb|right|Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel, pictured here in 1976, featured George Strait as an opening act during his early years performing in the 1970s. Asleep at the Wheel has in return, been an opening act for Strait in later years.
While he continued to play with his band, without any real connections to the recording industry, Strait became friends with Erv Woolsey, who operated one of the bars in which the Ace in the Hole band played and who had previously worked for the major label MCA Records. Woolsey convinced some of his Music Row connections to come to Texas and to listen to Strait and his band play. Impressed with the performance but concerned that they could not market the Western swing sound that the band featured, they left without offering a deal.
After several unsuccessful trips to Nashville with Kent Finlay, owner of the Cheatham Street Warehouse, in search of a major label record deal in which Strait was turned down by every label in town, he considered giving up music altogether. He was offered a job designing cattle pens and decided to take it. He gave the band notice that he was leaving, but after a discussion with his wife, she convinced him to give pursuing music one more year. Not long afterward, a major label, MCA, signed Strait to a recording contract in February 1981. The initial deal was for one song. If the single did well, the label would consider doing an album. The Ace in the Hole band remained with Strait, performing as the backup and touring band for the now solo career of Strait.
1980s
In the spring of 1981, Strait released his first single for MCA Records, titled "Unwound", which climbed to number six on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart that year and was included on his debut album Strait Country. The record featured two other singles including "Down and Out", a number 16 hit for Strait, and "If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger ".File:2006-07-28 - United States - Wyoming - Cody - Rodeo - Cowboy.jpg|thumb|right|"Amarillo by Morning," which tells the story of a Texas rodeo cowboy, was originally recorded and written by Terry Stafford in 1973.
In 1982, Strait recorded the song with a more Western-based instrumentation. The song has become a signature song associated with Strait; it has been referred as one of the greatest country songs of all time.
Strait Country was hailed by critics as being a "new-traditionalist" breakthrough that broke the trend of pop-influenced country prevalent at the time. The critically acclaimed Strait from the Heart, his second album, was released in 1982 and featured the first number-one single of his career, "Fool Hearted Memory" and the top-five Western ballad "Amarillo by Morning" which was originally sung and written by Terry Stafford in 1973. It later became one of Strait's signature songs. In 1983, Strait made his first appearance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, when the headlining star, Eddie Rabbitt became sick with the flu. Performing at that rodeo has since become a mainstay throughout his career. He has made more than 20 appearances at the rodeo and played for more than one million fans.
Strait recorded 17 number ones during the decade, including a string of five that lasted from 1983 to 1984 from his next two albums Right or Wrong, his first number-one album and the CMA award-winning Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind. The next year, he won the CMA award for top male vocalist, and released his first greatest hits compilation, which featured songs from his first three albums. Also in 1985, Strait released Something Special, the third-straight number-one album of his career, featuring the number-one single "The Chair". In 1986, Strait repeated as the CMA vocalist of the year and released his fourth number-one album #7.
Strait and his family were struck with tragedy when his 13-year-old daughter, Jenifer, was killed in a one-car, alcohol-unrelated accident in 1986. She was riding in a Ford Mustang driven by Gregory Wilson Allen, 18, of Staples, Texas. Allen was charged with a class A misdemeanor for vehicular homicide. Mike Cox, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin, said, "The responding trooper determined the cause of accident to be excessive speed and that the car did not negotiate the turn properly. Jenifer was riding in the front passenger seat, and none of the four occupants was wearing seat belts at the time. When the vehicle flipped over onto its passenger's side, Jenifer was partially ejected, killing her on impact. The incident caused George to greatly limit his contact with the media. He stopped doing interviews for many years after the accident; he and his family did not wish to discuss Jenifer's death.
George Strait's grief did not hinder his performance, however, or his output; as he released 11 straight number-one hits, starting with "Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her" in 1986 and ending with "Ace in the Hole" in 1989. The singles spanned four albums including #7, Ocean Front Property in 1987, If You Ain't Lovin' You Ain't Livin' in 1988, and 1989's Beyond the Blue Neon, all of which reached the number one spot on country album charts. Ocean Front Property was the first country album to ever debut at number one on the charts by any artist. The streak included such songs as "Ocean Front Property", "All My Ex's Live in Texas", "Famous Last Words of a Fool", and "Baby Blue". Strait finished the decade by winning the CMA Entertainer of the Year award in 1989. One year later, he won the award again.