George Strait 50 Number Ones Album

[Shanel Arrendell]

GeorgeHarvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. He is credited for pioneering the neotraditional country style in the 1980s,[2] famed for his authentic cowboy image and roots-oriented sound at a time when the Nashville music industry was dominated by country pop crossover acts. Given his influence on the genre, Strait has been nicknamed the "King of Country Music" by writers and music critics.[3][4][5][6] He currently holds the record for the most number one songs on all charts by an artist, in any genre of music."[3][7]

Strait's success began when his first single "Unwound" was a hit in 1981, helping introduce the neotraditional movement to the mainstream. During the 1980s, seven of his albums reached number one on the country charts. In the 2000s, he was named Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music, 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.

By 2009, he broke Conway Twitty's previous record for the most number-one hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart when his 44 number one singles surpassed Twitty's 40.[8] Strait has amassed 60 number-one hits.[9]"Give It All We Got Tonight" was number one in 2013,[10] breaking a record also previously set by Twitty. Strait holds the record for most number one songs on all charts by an artist in any genre of music."[3][7]

Strait has been known for his touring career beginning when he designed a 360-degree configuration and introduced festival style tours. For example, the Strait Tours earned $99 million in three years.[11] His final concert for The Cowboy Rides Away Tour at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in June 2014, drew 104,793 people. It set a new record for the largest indoor concert in North America.[12] In 2024 he set the record for the largest ticketed concert for a single act in U.S. history, with over 110,905 people at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.[13][14]

Strait has sold more than 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.[15] He holds the RIAA record for most certified platinum albums by any artist, with 33 certified platinum albums. He also has 13 multi-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 (it went 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 selling over 69 million records across the United States.[16]

Strait began his musical career while attending Pearsall High School, where he performed in a rock and roll garage band, known as the Stoics, taking most of their influence and inspiration from the Beatles and other British Invasion-era rock groups.[20] "The Beatles were big," Strait confirmed. "I listened to them a lot and that whole bunch of groups that were popular then." He performed in other rock bands during his high school tenure.[19] 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 in to and listen to country music radio often as a youth, usually selecting the news and the farmer's report instead. His introduction to country music came mostly by way of live performances, which according to Strait could be heard in every town in Texas.[21]

He eloped with his high school sweetheart, Norma Voss after their high school graduation.[19] The couple initially married in Mexico on December 4, 1971. In the same year, he enlisted in the United States Army as an infantryman. While stationed at Schofield Barracks adjacent to Wahiawa, Hawaii as part of the 25th Infantry Division, George auditioned and began performing with an Army-sponsored country music band, "Rambling Country", which also played off-base under the name "Santee".[19][22] On October 6, 1972, while still in Hawaii, George and Norma had their first child, Jenifer.[23] He served in the United States Army from 1971 to 1975 and ultimately attained the rank of corporal.[24]

During his college years, Strait 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.[27] 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 Records independent label. However, the songs never achieved wide recognition, and Strait continued to manage his family cattle ranch during the day to make some extra cash.[27][28]

While he continued to play with his band, without any real connections to the recording 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) connections to come to Texas and to listen to Strait and his band play. Impressed with the performance but concerned that they could not market the Western Swing sound that the band featured, they left without offering 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 pursuing music one more year. Not long afterward, a major label, 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 consider doing an album.[29] The Ace in the Hole band remained with Strait, performing as the backup and touring band for the now solo career of Strait.[28]

In the spring of 1981, Strait released his first single for MCA Records, titled "Unwound", which climbed to number six on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart that year and was included on his debut album Strait Country. The record featured two other singles including "Down and Out", a number 16 hit for Strait, and "If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger (There's One Coming Home)".[30]

Strait Country was hailed by critics as being a "new-traditionalist" breakthrough that broke the trend of pop-influenced country prevalent at the time.[30] The critically acclaimed Strait from the Heart, his second album, was released in 1982 and featured the first number-one single of his career, "Fool Hearted Memory" and the top-five Western ballad "Amarillo by Morning" which was originally sung and written by Terry Stafford in 1973. It later became one of Strait's signature songs.[33] In 1983, Strait made his first appearance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, when the headlining star, Eddie Rabbitt became sick with the flu. Performing at that rodeo has since become a mainstay throughout his career. He has made more than 20 appearances at the rodeo and played for more than one million fans.

Strait recorded 17 number ones during the decade, including a string of five that lasted from 1983 to 1984[34] 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".[30] In 1986, Strait repeated as the CMA vocalist of the year and released his fourth number-one album #7.

Strait and his family were struck with tragedy when his 13-year-old daughter, Jenifer, was killed in a one-car, alcohol-unrelated accident in 1986. She was riding in a Ford Mustang driven by Gregory Wilson Allen, 18, of Staples, Texas. Allen was 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 passenger seat, and none of the four occupants was wearing seat belts at the time.[35] When the vehicle flipped over onto its passenger's side, Jenifer was partially ejected, killing her on impact.[35][36] The incident caused George to greatly limit his contact with the media. He stopped doing interviews for many years after the accident; he and his family did not wish to discuss Jenifer's death.[37]

George Strait's grief did not hinder his performance, however, or his output; as he released 11 straight number-one hits, starting with "Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her" in 1986 and ending with "Ace in the Hole" in 1989.[34] 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 number one 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. One year later, he won the award again.[30]

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