george strait

Background information Birth name George Harvey Strait Born May 18, 1952(1952-05-18) (age 56)

Poteet, Texas, U.S. Origin Poteet, Texas, USA Genre(s) Country Occupation(s) Singer, Actor Years active 1975-Present Label(s) MCA (MCA Nashville) Associated acts Dean Dillon

Alan Jackson

Patty Loveless

Lee Ann Womack Website www.georgestrait.com

George Harvey Strait (born May 18, 1952) is a Grammy Award-winning American country music singer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend.[1] He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional country western music.[citation needed]

Strait won CMA Entertainer of the year in 1989 and 1990 and ACM Entertainer of the year in 1990. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Strait has been nominated for more CMA and ACM awards and has more wins in both category's than any other artist. As of 2009, he holds the record for the most Number One hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts with 44 number one singles on that chart. Counting all other music charts, Strait has amassed a total of 57 number one hits overall, breaking a record previously set by Conway Twitty.

Strait's 38 hit albums (12 multi platinum, 22 platinum and four gold) rank him only behind Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The RIAA has certified his albums at 68× platinum, denoting shipments of 58.5 million in the United States. His best-selling album there is Pure Country (1992), which sold 6 million (6× Multi-platinum). His highest certified album is Strait Out of the Box (1995), which sold 2 million copies (8× Multi-Platinum due to being a box set with four CDs). According to the RIAA, Strait is the tenth best-selling recording artist in the United States overall. Contents [hide] 1 Early years 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career discovery 2 Music career 2.1 1980 – 2000: Breakthrough 2.2 2000 – present: Career today 2.3 Touring 3 Acting career 4 Records held 5 Personal life 6 Discography 7 Filmography 8 Awards 9 See also 10 References 11 Notes 12 Further reading 13 External links //

Early years

Early life

Strait was born in Poteet, Texas, and grew up in Pearsall, Texas. His father, John Byron Strait, was a junior high school mathematics teacher. The Straits would often leave Pearsall on the weekends and in the summers to work at the family's 2,000 acre (8 km²) cattle ranch outside of Big Wells, Texas. Strait's parents divorced when he was in third grade, after his mother left, taking her daughter with her. Strait and his brother remained behind with their father.

Strait began playing with a rock band in Pearsall High School but his preference turned to country music. He counts country singers Merle Haggard, George Jones, Bob Wills and Hank Williams as his primary country music influences. After graduating from high school, Strait enrolled at Southwest Texas State University (now known as Texas State