Today we as country music-loving Americans say, Happy Birthday George Strait. Yes today, May 18th, the King Of Country Music is turning 71. Personally, I think we need to add this to the list of national holidays and we all get the day off to celebrate.
George Harvey Strait Sr was born on May 18, 1952, in Poteet Texas. Little did John Byron Strait Sr. and Doris Jean Couse know they just had the King Of Country Music. George married his high school sweetheart, Norma Voss. They married in Mexico on December 4, 1971. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army as an infantryman. While stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. George began performing with an Army-sponsored band, “Rambling Country”. On October 6, 1972, while in Hawaii, George, and Norma had their first child, Jenifer. George served in the United States Army from 1971 to 1975. Their son Bubba would come in 1981.
Signed to MCA Nashville, They released his first single “Unwound” and country music would never be the same from that day forward. It’s hard to write in just one sitting what George Strait has done for Country Music. I will give you some major bullet points of his career.
It’s All About George
- Named Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music
- Elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame
- Named CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1989, 1990 and 2013,
- 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.
- 60 number-one hits.” Give It All We Got Tonight” was number one in 2013, breaking a record also previously set by Conway Twitty.
- George currently holds the record for most number-one songs on all charts by an artist in any genre of music.”
- He has sold more than 120 million records worldwide, 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, 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)
George
So while it’s hard to list what George has done for Country music on one page, it’s even harder to list the artist that George has influenced to play music today. I personally remember hearing George Strait on the radio in the early 80’s and like many others, I was hooked. Behind Merle Haggard, George Strait is my country music hero. I’ve had the opportunity to me George many times and they say don’t meet your hero’s because you will be let down. I can tell you with George Strait, That is not true.
So today as we all celebrate George Strait, I wanna share some of memories with you about the nicest man in Country Music, The King, George Strait.
