Of all the country singers to surface in the early 80’s, George Strait, was the one who stayed close to traditional country music. From his very first chart topper, “Fool Hearted Memory” in 1982, to his 51st, “I Hate Everything” to the more recent, “You’ll Be There,” country hit and George Strait has become synonymous with each other.
Born on May 18, 1952 in Texas, George Harvey Strait has scored the highest number one hit singles, totaling to 52, second only to the late Conway Twitty. His mom left him after her divorce with his father at a very young age. Later, he began playing with a high school rock band with his preference gradually turning towards country music. He considers singers like Merle haggard, George Jones, etc as his early influences. In 1971, George joined the army and was stationed at Hawaii for two years. There he began playing country music with an army sponsored band named, Rambling Country. In 1975, George left the army returning to Texas with an aim of completing his education. He enrolled at Southwest Texas University to study agriculture, simultaneously forming his own country band, Ace in the Hole. In 1979, Strait became friends with a Texas club owner who formerly worked for MCA Records, and had several of MCA executives come down to hear Strait. His performance convinced them to sign him in 1980.
Strait’s first single hit “Unwound” released in 1981 soon joined the Top Ten charts. In 1982, his single ,“If You’re Thinking you Want a Stranger” climbed up the charts, sparking a remarkable string of Top Ten hits running into the 90’s. He became one of the most influential and popular singers of the decade. Strait has been graced with a dozen awards since the beginning of his career up to today. |
