George Strait
Winner of two 2008 CMA Awards: Single of the Year for "I Saw God Today" and Album of the Year for "Troubadour"
For almost 20 years, one name has consistently dominated the country music industry on the radio, on the charts, in the stores and at the award shows.
George Strait has received 25 platinum albums, more than any other country act and second only to Elvis Presley among solo male artists. He has logged a record-breaking 50 number one singles. And he has collected more than 50 CMA nominations, a record that stands alone. With George, it all begins with the song. "He listens to so many songs,
It's scary," says manager Erv Woolsey. "He is looking for his next song, and his next hit, all year long." And though he has been called a country purist, Strait really doesn't see it that way.
"Melody is the first thing I hear in a song," he says, "and if I like the melody, I'll pay a little closer attention to the lyric. And then if everything measures up, I'll do it. I got classified early in my career as Mr. Traditional Country. I don't think there was a lot to that, especially after I'd done songs like "Marina Del Rey" and "The Chair," and some of these songs that were about as far away from really traditional country as they could be. I guess people have to label you somehow. It doesn't bother me at all. I mean, I love that kind of music. It's just that I don't think that all my music is like that."
George's latest album, George Strait's 50 Number Ones, is proof of that, illustrating the breadth of his musical leanings and depth of his talents, as well as his encyclopedic knowledge of country classics. From his first #1, "Fool Hearted Memory," in 1982 to his 2002 smash, "She'll Leave You With A Smile," 50 Number Ones chronicles the career of a performer so respected and beloved, his fans know him simply as "King George."
50 Number Ones will mark George Strait's 32nd release. In his 23-year recording career, he has sold over 62 million albums, played to millions of fans and picked up armloads of industry awards including 2003's Academy of Country Music "Gene Weed Award" recognizing his success. George Strait holds the Country Music Association's all time record for most career nominations with a total of 71. He was the CMA "Vocalist of the Year" 5 times and the only artist in history to be so honored in two different decades.
Coming at a time when every other Nashville artist just dreamed of "crossing over" into the pop world, George was a breath of fresh air, even if many in the industry weren't sure what to make of the young singer who wore starched western shirts, crisply pressed Wranglers, Justin boots and a white Resistol cowboy hat.
There were suggestions that he needed to change his look, but George stuck to his guns. What fans knew first, and what industry pundits came to realize, was that George's look wasn't an image, it was the man, and his music wasn't a marketing concept, but a personal choice.
George is a native of rural Pearsall, Texas, where he grew up helping his school teacher father on the 2000-acre family ranch 40 miles southwest in Big Wells. He married his high school sweetheart Norma.
Inspired by a cheap guitar and an old Hank Williams songbook he picked up during a 3-year Army stint in Hawaii, George taught himself some songs and started down that road that would lead him to becoming the single most recognized name in country music today.
For more information about George, visit GeorgeStrait.com.
