George Strait, whose full name is George Harvey Strait, was born in Poteet, Texas, on May 18, 1952.
He is an American country music singer, guitarist, and “new traditionalist” who is credited with rekindling interest in the western swing and honky-tonk music of the 1930s and ’40s through his uncomplicated musical style and unassuming, straight-from-the-ranch stage persona.
Birth name: George Harvey Strait
Occupations: Singer-songwriter actor record producer rancher
Born: May 18, 1952 (age 70)
Origin: Pearsall, Texas, U.S.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he was one of the most well-liked performers at concerts and on records, and his concerts continued to fill stadiums long into the twenty-first century.
Strait was reared in the small Texas town of Pearsall, where his father taught math to junior high school students and owned a ranch that had been in the Strait family for almost a century, about 40 miles (64 km) to the southwest. While still a young man, Strait often spent weekends with his brother roping cattle, riding horses, and otherwise absorbing the way of life and principles of the rural West.
However, he was reluctant to embrace country music as a part of the culture. He was more interested in practicing his weak guitar talents with his high school garage band and playing the newest rock songs.
After spending a year studying at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University-San Marcos), Strait married his high school girlfriend and joined the army in 1971.
He improved his guitar and singing skills when stationed in Hawaii and discovered a love for the country music of Hank Williams, George Jones, Merle Haggard, and, in particular, Bob Wills, the pioneer of western swing. He joined his first country music band at his army post in 1973 while still serving in the military.
Following his resignation from the military in 1975, Strait returned to Southwest Texas State University where he eventually earned a degree in agriculture in 1979. He joined the Stoney Ridge country band, later known as Ace in the Hole, while still a student at the university.
The group frequently performed in local clubs close to campus. Nashville music business executives balked at Strait’s repeated attempts to promote his music there because they questioned the marketability of his traditional style in a city where a slicker image and pop-country music were then the dominant genres.
MCA Records finally gave in and signed him to a one-song deal in 1981; if the song was a success, the business would then offer a longer-term one. The 1981 answer from Strait, “Unwound,” peaked at number six on Billboard magazine’s Hot Country Songs chart.
finally led to his being given a longer contract by MCA and the beginning of his professional music career.
Over the following ten years, Strait put out more than a dozen albums, all of which went platinum. He released Strait from the Heart (1982), which had his first number-one country music song, “Fool Hearted Memory,” shortly after releasing his honky-tonk debut album, Strait Country (1981).
Strait’s popularity increased as a result of his performance as a country music icon in the 1992 movie Pure Country.
He continued to produce extraordinarily well, and in 2006, he was honored with a Country Music Hall of Fame induction.
His 2008 album Troubadour was recognized with a Grammy for best country album. He began creating songs in 2009, co-writing three of the songs on Twang with his son George (“Bubba”) Strait, Jr. By 2010, approximately 50 of the senior Strait recordings have achieved the top spot on Billboard’s Country Songs chart.
Throughout his career, Strait hardly ever deviated from his traditional sound and rancher’s garb, which included a western-style button-down shirt, blue jeans, a cowboy hat, and boots. In addition, he was the longtime organizer of the George Strait Team Roping Classic, an annual competition that he, his father, and his brother had founded.
Despite his continued excellence as a performer, Strait declared in September 2012 that his 2013–2014 Cowboy Rides Away tour, which kicked off in about May 2013, would be his final one.
For the third time in his career, Strait received the Country Music Association’s performer of the year award in late 2013, in between tour legs (following wins in 1989–90). In 2015, Strait released his 29th studio album, Cold Beer Conversation, and the following year, he started a residency in Las Vegas.
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