George Strait

Born in Poteet, Texas on May 18, 1952, Country Music Hall of Fame inductee George Strait is a singer, songwriter, actor, and producer who pioneered the neotraditional country movement in the 1980s. Often referred to as the ‘King of Country Music,’ he has earned more gold and platinum albums than anyone in the music business after Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Over the course of his career, he has had more number 1 hits - 44 as of 2024 - than any other artist in any genre. He has had forty-two albums that entered the Billboard 200 including twenty that reached the Top 10 and five that topped the chart. George Strait has received 16 Grammy Award nominations and won for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 2008. With 51 Country Music Awards nominations and 51 Academy of Country Music Awards nominations, he’s won seventeen of each. He began his 45+ year music career while attending college and joining local country music band Stoney Ridge, who later changed their name to Ace in the Hole Band and played local honky-tonk bars. After several years of trying to land a record deal, George Strait considered quitting the music business and pursue a career as a cattle rancher. However, he was encouraged by his wife to give music one more year and, by February 1981, he signed a deal with MCA Records. A year later, he scored his first number 1 hit, “Fool Hearted Memory,” which kickstarted a career that has included 40+ more number 1 hits including “Right or Wrong” (1984), “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” (1984), “Ocean Front Property” (1986), “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” (1987), “I Cross My Heart” (1992), “Blue Clear Sky” (1996), “River of Love” (2008), and many others. His long list of chart-topping albums includes Right or Wrong (1983), If You Ain’t Lovin’ You Ain’t Livin’ (1988), One Step at a Time (1998), Honkytonkville (2003), and Twang (2009). Even though his popularity seemingly faded outside of the country music industry, all but two of the albums he’s released since 2000 have reached number 1. George Strait took a five-year break after the release of 2019’s Honky Tonk Time Machine but returned in 2024 with the singles “MIA Down in MIA,” “The Little Things,” and “Three Drinks Behind,” all of which were lifted from his 31st studio album, Cowboys and Dreamers.