George Strait

George Strait
Strait in 2014
Background information
Birth name	George Harvey Strait
Also known as	King George The King of Country
Born	(1952-05-18) May 18, 1952 Poteet, Texas, United States
Origin	Pearsall, Texas, United States
Genres	Country, Classic Country
Occupation(s)	Singer actor
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	1976–present
Labels	MCA (MCA Nashville)
Associated acts	Ace in the Hole Band Tony Brown Kenny Chesney Dean Dillon Alan Jackson Miranda Lambert Martina McBride Lee Ann Womack Eric Church
Website	www.georgestrait.com

George Harvey Strait (born May 18, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer known as the "King of Country"^[1] and one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time.^[2] He is known for his neotraditionalist country style, cowboy look, and being one of the first and main country artists to bring country music back to its roots and away from the pop country era in the 1980s.

Strait's success began when his first single "Unwound" was a hit in 1981. During the 1980s, seven of his albums reached number one on the country charts. In the 2000s, Strait was named Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music, was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and won his first Grammy award for the album Troubadour. 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. In 2009, he broke Conway Twitty's previous record for the most number-one hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart when his 45 number one singles surpassed Twitty's 40.^[3] Counting all music charts, Strait has amassed a total of 61 number-one hits, breaking a record also previously set by Twitty, and giving him more number one songs than any other artist in any genre of music.^[4]

Strait is also known for his touring career when he designed a 360- degree configuration and introduced festival style tours. For example, the Strait Tours earned $90 million in three years.^[5] His concert at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX in June 2014 drew 104,793 people, marking a new record for largest indoor concert in North America.^[6] Strait was successful innovating country music and in numerous aspects of being a part of popular music.

Strait has sold more than 100 million records worldwide,^[7] making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. His certifications from the RIAA include 13 multi-platinum, 33 platinum, and 38 gold albums. His best-selling album is Pure Country (1992), which sold 6 million (6× platinum). His highest certified album is Strait Out of the Box (1995), which sold 2 million copies (8× Platinum due to being a box set with four CDs). According to the RIAA, Strait is the 12th best-selling album recording artist in the United States overall.

Early life

George Harvey Strait was born on May 18, 1952, in Poteet, Texas,^[8] to John Byron Strait, Sr. (January 11, 1922 – June 4, 2013),^[9] and Doris Couser (June 26, 1930 – January 30, 2010). He grew up in nearby Pearsall, in Frio County,^[8] where his father was a junior high school mathematics teacher and the owner of a 2,000-acre (810 ha) cattle ranch outside of Big Wells, Texas.^[8] The family worked at the ranch on the weekends and in the summers.^[8] 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, Jr., or "Buddy" (1950–2009), were raised by their father.^[10]

Strait began his musical interest while attending Pearsall High School, where he played in a rock and roll garage band. The Beatles were popular when Strait was in high school. "The Beatles were big", Strait confirmed. "I listened to them a lot and that whole bunch of groups that were popular then". 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 to the country music radio often as a youth, usually listening to the news and the farmer's report. His introduction to country music came mostly by way of live performances, which, according to Strait, could be heard in every town in Texas.^[11] He eloped with his high school sweetheart, Norma. The couple initially married in Mexico on December 4, 1971. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army. While stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii as a part of the 25th Infantry Division, Strait began performing with a U.S. Army-sponsored band, "Rambling Country", which played off-base under the name "Santee".^[10] On October 6, 1972, while still in Hawaii, George and Norma had their first child, Jenifer.

After Strait was honorably discharged from the Army in 1975, he enrolled at Texas State University in San Marcos and graduated with a degree in agriculture. During his college years, he 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.^[12] They gained a regional following and opened for national acts such as The Texas Playboys. 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 label. However, the songs never achieved wide recognition, and Strait continued to manage his family cattle ranch during the day in order to make some extra cash.^[12][13]

While he continued to play with his band, without any real connections to the music 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 (Nashville, TN) connections to come to Texas and to listen to Strait and his band play. Impressed with the performance, but concerned that they couldn't market the Western Swing sound that the band featured, they left without a deal. After several unsuccessful trips to Nashville in search of a 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 music one more year. Not long afterward, 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 then consider doing an album.^[14] The Ace in the Hole band remained with Strait, performing as the backup and touring band for the now solo act.^[13]

Music career

1980s

In the spring of 1981, Strait released his first single for MCA Records, entitled "Unwound", which climbed to #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart that year, and was included on his debut album Strait Country. The record featured two more singles including "Down and Out", a No. 16 hit for Strait, and "If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger (There's One Coming Home)", which reached number three early in 1982, sparking a string of Top Ten hits that ran well into the 1990s.^[15] Strait Country was hailed by critics as a traditionalist breakthrough that broke the trend of pop-influenced country prevalent at the time.^[15] The year 1982 also saw the release of Strait's second album, the critically acclaimed Strait from the Heart, which featured the first number one single of his career, "Fool Hearted Memory", and the top five "Amarillo by Morning", regarded by many as one of the greatest country songs of all-time. In 1983, Strait made his first appearance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo when the headlining star, Eddie Rabbitt, came down sick with the flu. Performing at that rodeo has since become a mainstay throughout his career, making more than twenty appearances at the Rodeo, and playing to a total of more than one million fans.

Strait recorded 17 subsequent No. 1's in the decade, including a string of five that lasted from 1983–84^[16] 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".^[15] In 1986, Strait repeated as the CMA vocalist of the year and released his fourth No. 1 album #7.

Strait and his family were struck with tragedy when his 13-year-old daughter, Jenifer, was killed in a one-car non-alcohol-related accident. She was riding in a Ford Mustang driven by Gregory Wilson Allen, 18, of Staples, Texas. He was subsequently 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 passengers seat and none of the four occupants were wearing seat belts at the time.^[17] When the vehicle flipped over onto its passenger's side, Jenifer was partially ejected, causing her to be dead upon impact.^[17][18] The incident caused Strait to greatly limit his contact with the media. He stopped doing interviews for many years after the accident as he and his family did not wish to discuss Jenifer's death.

His grief did not hinder his performance, however, or his output, as he went on to release 11 straight No. 1 hits, starting with "Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her" in 1986 and ending with "Ace in the Hole" in 1989.^[16] 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 No. 1 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. A year later, he won the award again.^[15]

1990s

Strait began the decade with the release of his tenth studio album, Livin' It Up, which featured two No. 1 hits including "Love Without End, Amen", his first multi-week hit, and "I've Come to Expect It From You". Both songs remained No. 1 for five weeks in 1990. Chill of an Early Fall shortly followed in 1991, and received positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly noted that the album marked a shift for Strait from "repeating himself" in his previous works to producing different material.^[19] It produced the No. 1's "If I Know Me" and "You Know Me Better Than That", but ended his streak of 31 straight top ten hits with the cover of "Lovesick Blues", which peaked at No. 24. The record blocked his run of eight top charting albums with its peak of No. 4. In the spring of 1992, Holding My Own was released. It did not produce any No. 1s but did include two top five songs including "So Much Like My Dad".

Later in 1992, Strait played the main character in the movie Pure Country, and released the film's soundtrack. It was his most successful studio album, producing such hits as "Heartland", "I Cross My Heart", and "When Did You Stop Loving Me", and peaked at No. 1 and No. 6 respectively on the Country and Billboard 200 album charts. The success continued with his next album, Easy Come, Easy Go in 1993, which reached the top five on the Billboard 200 and featured the hits "I'd Like to Have That One Back", "The Man in Love with You", and the No. 1 title track. His next four albums, including Lead On in 1994, Blue Clear Sky in 1996, Carrying Your Love with Me in 1997, and 1998's One Step at a Time, all charted at No. 1, with Blue Clear Sky claiming the spot on its debut week, and Carrying Your Love with Me peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the first time in Strait's career. This series of albums produced eight number one singles for Strait, including "You Can't Make a Heart Love Somebody", "Carried Away", "One Night at a Time", and "I Just Want to Dance with You".^[15]

During this period, Strait also released a four-disc box set career retrospective, Strait Out of the Box, in 1995, which became the second-best-selling box set ever with shipments of 8 million in the United States. He also was named as the CMA's Top Male Vocalist in 1997 and 1998.^[15] Starting in '97, and continuing until the first year of the 21st century, Strait headlined the George Strait Country Music Festival, which included artists such as Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, and others. In an effort to introduce these acts to as many fans as possible, the festival promised not to visit any market more than twice. It played only a small number of dates, usually no more than twenty a year, but still managed to be the ninth-biggest-grossing tour of 1998. In 2009, the George Strait Country Music Festival was voted the most important tour in the history of country music and the best selling country music tour in the 90s.

Strait completed the decade with the album Always Never the Same in 1999, which peaked at No. 2 on country charts and matched the cross-over success of Pure Country by reaching No. 6 on the Billboard 200. The record produced the hits "What Do You Say to That", "Meanwhile", and the No. 1 "Write This Down". Reviews of the album's material were generally moderate, but Entertainment Weekly observed that at this point in his career, Strait could record the "most lightweight" material and "make it soar" on the radio with his "grace".^[19] All in all, Strait scored 17 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country airplay charts in the decade, and carried his successes into the next century.^[10]

2000–present

Strait released a self-named album in 2000, which despite a No. 1 and No. 7 showing on the country and Billboard 200 album charts, produced no No. 1 singles, and was the first studio album of his career to not be certified platinum. The singles "Go On" and "If You Can Do Anything Else" were released from the record, with both peaking in the top five. In May 2001, The Road Less Traveled was released. Reviews for the album were mostly positive, Rolling Stone described it as sticking to the formula "but adds a few twists that make it superior to his last few releases."^[20] It featured "vocal processing", and was considered by some critics as an experimental album.^[13]

Three singles were released from it, two of which reached No. 1, including "She'll Leave You with a Smile", his 50th on combined charts and "Living and Living Well", both of which reached the top 30 of Billboard Hot 100, with the former peaking at No. 23, Strait's highest rank on the chart. The single "Run" peaked at No. 2 and reached No. 34 on the Billboard 100. Strait released two records in 2003. For the Last Time: Live from the Astrodome was a recording of the last Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to take place in the Astrodome. The performance itself, set the record for paid attendance at the venue, with 68,266 people, breaking Latin superstar Selena's previous record of approximately 67,000 in 1995.

His next album, Honkytonkville was described as "a fiery set of hard country", and was praised "for its mixture of the old Strait with his modern, superstar self."^[13] It didn't produce any No. 1's for Strait but included the hits "Cowboys Like Us" and a cover of Bruce Robison's "Desperately". His 2004 performance at Reliant Stadium set a new Rodeo attendance record, with 68,679 spectators. That year he issued a Greatest Hits package billed as 50 Number Ones, chronicling the No. 1 hits of his career from all charts, starting with "Fool Hearted Memory" and ending with "She'll Leave You With a Smile." A new track, "I Hate Everything", was also included, and became his 51st overall Number One in 2004. The next year, Somewhere Down in Texas arrived, which produced the hit "You'll Be There," marking Strait's first appearance on the Adult Contemporary chart. The next year, he embarked on a tour that included only 18 performances but grossed over $15 million. He attributed this success to the fact that he and his band are "musically very tight," have a large pool of songs to draw from, and perform those songs very similarly to how they sound on their albums.^[21]

On October 3, 2006, Strait marked his 30th year in the music industry with the release of a new album titled It Just Comes Natural. The album was recorded in Key West, Fla. in Jimmy Buffett's Shrimp Boat Sound Studio (said to be a better recording location due to lack of allergy flare ups during recording process), which was also the recording location of "Troubadour". It featured fifteen new songs. Strait's long-time friend and songwriter, Dean Dillon co-wrote two of the songs on the album. It received generally positive reviews from critics. People, in their four-star review, remarked that "If ever there was a natural in country music, it's Strait," while USA Today raved that "he continues to make such consistent quality look easy". The first single from the album, "Give It Away" reached No. 1, making one of its co-writers, country legend "Whispering Bill" Anderson, the first songwriter to have a #1 hit in five different decades. The title track, "It Just Comes Natural" became his 42nd Billboard No. 1.

In 2007, "Wrapped" reached No. 1 on the Mediabase 24/7 country music charts, giving Strait his 55th overall number-one single. From January through April of that year, Strait headlined a 23-date arena tour with country music legend Ronnie Milsap and then newcomer Taylor Swift. He released a new album titled Troubadour on April 1, 2008. The CD contained 12 tracks, including a duet with Patty Loveless and another with long-time songwriter Dean Dillon. The lead single from the album, "I Saw God Today", debuted at No. 19 on the Radio and Records and Billboard charts. It is the highest debut ever for a single from Strait and the fourth highest debut for a song in country music history. Troubadour debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 album charts, selling over 160,000 copies in its first week of release. "River of Love" the 3rd single from the album became his 57th number-one song in 2009.^[22]

In April 2009, Strait was honored by the Academy of Country Music with the Artist of the Decade Award, which was presented to Strait by the previous ACM Artist of the Decade, Garth Brooks. In June of that year he headlined the first event at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Strait's single "Living for the Night" was released on May 28, 2009, and was written by Strait, his son Bubba, and Dean Dillon. The song was the lead single from his album Twang, released on August 11, 2009. Twang was certified gold for selling over 500,000 copies. In 2010, Billboard ranked Strait No. 1 in the top 25 country artists of the past 25 years.^[23]

On September 6, 2011, Strait released the album, Here for a Good Time, which yielded two No. 1 singles—"Here for a Good Time" and "Love's Gonna Make It Alright"—bringing Strait's No. 1 singles total to 59. The album's third single, "Drinkin' Man", was less successful, peaking at No. 37.

In October 2012, Strait released the single "Give It All We Got Tonight",^[24] which was included on his album Love Is Everything, released on May 14, 2013. The song initiated a "60 for 60" movement by Strait's label, to make the song his sixtieth number-one single on all country charts while he was still 60 years old.^[25] The song reached the top of the Mediabase charts in May 2013. The album's next single "I Believe" reached No. 50 on The U.S. Country Airplay chart, making it Strait's first single to miss the Top 40. Strait won the 2013 CMA Entertainer of the Year award.

In November 2013, Billboard magazine presented Strait with its Legend of Live honor during the 10th annual Billboard Touring Awards ceremony.^[26] The award honors the concert industry's top artist based on Billboard's Boxscore chart and box office performance.^[27] Strait is the first country artist to receive Billboard magazine's highest touring accolade.^[28] On April 19, 2015, Strait made a guest appearance at the 2015 ACM Awards, he performed "All My Ex's Lives In Texas" and his new single "Let it Go".^[29]

In 2016, Strait was selected as one of 30 artists to perform on "Forever Country", a mash-up track of Take Me Home, Country Roads, On the Road Again and I Will Always Love You which celebrates 50 years of the CMA Awards.^[30]

The Cowboy Rides Away Tour

On September 26, 2012, Strait announced that he was retiring from touring, and that his Cowboy Rides Away Tour would be his last.^[31][32][33] Tickets for both arenas and stadiums on the Cowboy Rides Away Tour sold out in a matter of hours. The tour started on January 18, 2013 in Lubbock, Texas and is divided into two legs: 21 concerts in 2013 and 26 concerts in 2014, for a total of 47 concerts. The tour ended in Arlington, Texas on June 7, 2014. Strait was supported on the tour by his longtime eleven-member touring group, the Ace in the Hole Band. For the 2013 leg, Martina McBride was the opening performer.^[31] On January 9, 2014, Strait initiated the second leg of the tour, which featured the opening performers Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, Lee Ann Womack, Merle Haggard, Chris Young, Ronnie Dunn, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, and Asleep at the Wheel.^[34] Many of these performers gathered together for the tour's final concert in Arlington, Texas, before 104,793 fans—the largest attendance at a single-show concert in the United States.^[35] The concert also set a record for the largest gross at a single-show country concert, $18,194,374.^[35]

A live album recorded from the final concert in Arlington titled The Cowboy Rides Away: Live from AT&T Stadium was released on September 16, 2014, with a DVD/CDs of the concert being released on November 10, 2014, with Wal-mart exclusively releasing a Deluxe edition including 2 cd's as well. This Deluxe DVD is the entire 3+ hour concert and the accompanying 2 cd's have 28 of the 40 songs sung that night.^[36] On August 29, 2014, the Country Music Television channel broadcast a two-hour concert special of the event titled George Strait: The Cowboy Rides Away.^[36] This CMT concert special had 1-1/4 hours of music from the 3+ hour concert, and interviews.

Personal life

Strait married his high school sweetheart, Norma, in December 1971. Ten years later, George and Norma's son, George Strait, Jr., known as "Bubba", was born. Their daughter Jenifer (born October 6, 1972) was killed in an automobile accident in San Marcos on June 25, 1986, at the age of 13. The family set up the Jenifer Lynn Strait Foundation, which donates money to children's charities in the San Antonio area.^[37] Bubba, who is a graduate of Texas A&M in College Station, is pursuing a career as a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) team roping competitor.^[38] Strait was able to watch his son compete at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2006 shortly before taking the stage for his own performance.

Strait enjoys hunting, fishing, skiing, playing golf, and riding motorcycles. Along with his son, he is a member of the PRCA and partners in team roping competitions. George and his elder brother John Jr., known as Buddy, hosted the annual George Strait Team Roping Classic, in which they competed against some of the best team ropers in the world. Strait has also said that he very seldom picks up a guitar when not in the studio or touring. He and his wife live in northwest San Antonio in a master-planned community known as The Dominion, as well as on a ranch near Cotulla in La Salle County between San Antonio and Laredo. Strait is a fan of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs and can be seen court-side at many of the Spurs' home basketball games.

Since 2010, Strait has served as spokesman for the Wrangler National Patriot program, a campaign designed to raise awareness and funds for America's wounded and fallen military veterans and their families.^[39] Strait states, "I've been a part of the Wrangler family for a long time... when they came to me with the idea for supporting fallen and wounded American veterans and their families, I knew I wanted to get involved."^[39] In February 2012, Strait became a grandfather, as his son George Strait, Jr., and his wife, Tamara, had their first child, a son. According to reports, the infant was named George H. Strait, III, as a tribute to his famous grandfather.^[40] The grandson is known as Harvey, from his common middle name shared with his father and grandfather, but is also called "Bubba".

Strait owns a Gulfstream 450 and carries a personal registration N518GS. His personal aircraft is housed at the Landmark Aviation facility in San Antonio.^[41] Strait was raised in the Baptist Church. He is believed to be a Republican but does not discuss political issues in public.^[42]

Discography

In more than 30 years of recording, all of which have been spent with MCA Records, George Strait has garnered 61 No. 1 songs on all country charts (including Mediabase 24/7, the former Radio & Records chart, and the now-defunct Gavin Report chart), and has more No. 1 hits than any other artist in any genre. His 45 Billboard Magazine country No. 1's are a record, four more than Conway Twitty's total that includes several duets with Loretta Lynn.^[43] Additionally, Strait is also the first artist in the history of Billboard magazine to have at least one single enter the Top 10 of a Billboard chart for 30 consecutive years, starting in 1981 when his debut single "Unwound" peaked at No. 6 on the Hot Country Singles chart. All of his Top 10 singles have been on that chart.^[44] Strait has sold more than 68 million records in the United States alone^[45] and his certifications from the RIAA include 13 multi-platinum, 33 platinum, and 38 gold albums.^[46]

Filmography

Strait has acted in several films. He had a bit part in The Soldier (1982) and starred in Pure Country (1992). He also appeared as himself in Grand Champion (2002).

The film Pure Country featured George Strait in the lead role as Dusty Chandler, a famous country singer who strays too far from his country roots and traditional sound. It provided the opportunity for Strait to branch out from his own traditional country sound for a more rock-and-roll approach. The film saw little success at the box office, taking in only $15 million, but the soundtrack, also called Pure Country, produced several hit singles for Strait, and has become his best-selling album to date. Strait had a limited role in the sequel to Pure Country, Pure Country 2: The Gift.^[47]

Year	Title	Role
1982	The Soldier	Himself
1992	Pure Country	Wyatt "Dusty" Chandler
2002	Grand Champion	Himself
2003	King of the Hill	Voice of Cornell
2011	Pure Country 2: The Gift	Himself

Honors and awards

Strait holds the record for most number one albums and singles, gold albums, platinum albums, and multi-platinum in the history of country music, and is eleventh in the most number one albums in all other genres. Strait is third only to Elvis Presley and The Beatles with the most gold and platinum albums in the history of music.^[48] Strait has been certified as the twelfth best selling artist in American history, with career record sales of 70 million.^[49]

Strait has recorded the most number one songs and top five songs in the history of music of any kind, and is the only artist in the history of music of any kind to have a top ten hit every year for 30 years. He is also second all-time in top ten hits in the history of music, currently 5 away from breaking the all-time record held by Eddy Arnold who had 92 in his historic career. Strait has also won 22 CMA Awards, including consecutive Entertainer of the Year honors in 1989 and 1990, and also just recently won that same honor in 2013 (and is the only artist to win the top honor in three different decades) and holds the career record for CMA nominations (as a whole) and the most consecutively of all time. As of 2009 he holds the record for the most CMA awards. Strait also holds those same records for wins and nominations for the ACM Awards. Strait was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006, performing his then-latest No. 1 hit "Give it Away" right before accepting his replica Hall of Fame plaque at the 40th CMA Awards. He was only the second artist (after Eddy Arnold in 1966) to be inducted into the Hall of Fame while still actively recording and producing chart-topping hits and albums.

As of June 8, 2010, Strait was named the top country music artist of the past 25 years according to Billboard magazine. In October 2008, the Academy of Country Music Awards named Strait their Artist of the Decade for the 2000s. He was presented the award by the previous winner Garth Brooks. Past winners of the award are Marty Robbins (1960s), Loretta Lynn (1970s), Alabama (1980s) and Garth Brooks (1990s).^[50] And with the win of the entertainer of the year award in 2013 he is the only artist to ever win the entertainer of the year in three different decades and also was the oldest winner. The win is currently the longest span between wins for that award as well. Strait is also tied with Merle Haggard for the most male vocalist of the year awards.

On June 1, 2013, Strait appeared in The Alamodome, in San Antonio,Texas, before seventy thousand fans in the last concert of the first half of his two-year farewell tour. Governor Rick Perry, who was in attendance with First Lady Anita Thigpen Perry, announced that henceforth May 18, Strait's birthday, would be "George Strait Day" in Texas.^[51]

Year	Award	Category	Work	Ref
1985	Academy of Country Music	Top Male Vocalist	—	[52]
1985	Country Music Association	Male Vocalist of the Year	—	[53]
1985	Country Music Association	Album of the Year	Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind	[53]
1986	Academy of Country Music	Top Male Vocalist	—	[52]
1986	Academy of Country Music	Album of the Year	Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind	[52]
1986	Music City News Country	Male Artist of the Year	—
1986	Country Music Association	Male Vocalist of the Year	—	[53]
1986	Billboard	Top Country Artist	—
1987	Billboard	Top Country Artist	—
1988	Academy of Country Music	Top Male Vocalist	—	[52]
1989	Country Music Association	Entertainer of the Year	—	[53]
1989	Special	Connie B. Gay Award	—
1989	Academy of Country Music	Entertainer of the Year	—	[52]
1989	Special	Presidential American Success Award	—
1990	Country Music Association	Entertainer of the Year	—	[53]
1990	Radio & Records	Country Performer Of The Year	—
1991	American Music Awards	Favorite Country Male Artist	—
1993	Academy of Country Music	Tex Ritter Movie Of The Year	Pure Country	[52]
1995	Academy of Country Music	Single of the Year	"Check Yes or No"	[52]
1995	ASCAP	Voice Of Music Award	—
1996	TNN/Music City News	Video of the Year	"Check Yes or No"
1996	TNN/Music City News	Single of the Year	"Check Yes or No"
1996	TNN/Music City News	Album of the Year	Lead On
1996	Music City News Country	Single of the Year	"Check Yes or No"
1996	Country Music Association	Single of the Year	"Check Yes or No"	[53]
1996	Country Music Association	Album of the Year	Blue Clear Sky	[53]
1996	Country Music Association	Male Vocalist of the Year	—	[53]
1996	Academy of Country Music	Top Male Vocalist	—	[52]
1996	Academy of Country Music	Album of the Year	Blue Clear Sky	[52]
1996	Radio & Records	Best Single	"Check Yes or No"	[52]
1996	Radio & Records	Best Male Vocalist	—
1996	Radio & Records	Most Valuable Performer	—
1996	Billboard	Top Country Artist	—
1997	TNN/Music City News	Album of the Year	Blue Clear Sky
1997	Country Music Association	Male Vocalist of the Year	—	[53]
1997	Country Music Association	Album of the Year	Carrying Your Love With Me	[53]
1997	American Music Awards	Favorite Country Album	Blue Clear Sky
1997	Academy of Country Music	Top Male Vocalist	—	[52]
1997	Academy of Country Music	Album of the Year	Carrying Your Love With Me	[52]
1997	Radio & Records	Best Album	Blue Clear Sky
1997	Radio & Records	Best Male Vocalist	—
1996	Billboard	Most Played Artist (All Genres of Music)	—
1998	Country Music Association	Male Vocalist of the Year	—	[53]
1998	American Music Awards	Favorite Country Male Artist	—
1998	American Music Awards	Favorite Country Album	Carrying Your Love With Me
1998	Radio & Records	Best Male Vocalist	—
1999	Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards	Favorite Song	"I Just Want to Dance with You"
1999	Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards	Favorite Line Dance Song	"I Just Want to Dance with You"
1999	Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards	Favorite Video Entertainer	—
1999	Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards	Favorite Male Artist	—
1999	Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards	Favorite Entertainer	—
1999	Country Weekly / TNN/CMT Music Awards	Album of the Year	One Step at a Time
2000	Country Weekly / TNN/CMT Music Awards	Impact Artist of the Year	—
2000	Country Weekly / TNN/CMT Music Awards	Single of the Year	"Write This Down"
2000	Country Weekly / TNN/CMT Music Awards	Male Artist of the Year	—
2000	Country Weekly / TNN/CMT Music Awards	Entertainer of the Year	—
2000	Country Weekly / TNN/CMT Music Awards	Album of the Year	Always Never The Same
2000	Country Music Association	Vocal Event of the Year	"Murder on Music Row" (with Alan Jackson)	[53]
2001	Country Music Association	Song of the Year	"Murder On Music Row" (awarded to songwriters)	[53]
2002	Country Weekly	Favorite Collaborative Song	"Designated Drinker" (with Alan Jackson)
2003	CMT 40 Greatest Men of Country Music	Ranked No. 9	—
2003	Academy of Country Music	Special Achievement Award (in recognition of 50 No. 1 Songs)	—	[52]
2003	Special Award	National Medal of Arts	—
2005	Country Music Association	Musical Event of the Year	"Good News, Bad News" (with Lee Ann Womack)	[53]
2006	Honorary Doctoral Degree	Texas State University–San Marcos	—
2006	Country Music Hall of Fame	Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame	—
2006	Academy of Country Music	Single Record of the Year (artist)	"Give It Away"	[53]
2006	Academy of Country Music	Single Record of the Year (producer)	"Give It Away"	[53]
2006	Academy of Country Music	Song of the Year (artist)	"Give It Away"	[53]
2007	Country Music Association	Song of the Year	"Give It Away" (awarded to songwriter Jamey Johnson)	[53]
2007	Country Music Association	Album of the Year	It Just Comes Natural (for artist and producer)	[53]
2008	Country Music Association	Single of the Year	"I Saw God Today"	[53]
2008	Country Music Association	Album of the Year	Troubadour	[53]
2009	Grammy Awards	Best Country Album	Troubadour
2009	Academy of Country Music	Artist of the Decade	—	[52]
2010	Billboard Music Award	Top Country Artist of the Past 25 Years	—
2013	Country Radio Broadcasters Inc.	Country Radio Broadcasters Career Achievement Award	—
2013	ASCAP	ASCAP Founders Award	—
2013	Billboard Touring Awards	Legend of Live Award	—
2013	Country Music Association	Entertainer of the Year	—	[53]
2014	Academy of Country Music	Entertainer of the Year	—	[52]
2015	Academy of Country Music	50th Anniversary Milestone Award Winner	—	[52]

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to George Strait.

• George Strait Online
• George Strait - biography, discography, lyrics, photos, videos
• Official UMG Nashville Artist Page
• George Strait at the Internet Movie Database
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
• George Strait Team Roping Classic (GSTRC) homepage