George Strait

George Strait is a legendary American country singer who has been producing country hits for four decades with more gold and platinum albums than anyone in the music business after Elvis Presley and The Beatles. He has had more number one hits than any other artist in any genre with more than 50 releases on Billboard's Top Country Albums Chart including 40 in the top ten and 26 that went to number one. He has had 42 albums on the Billboard 200 including 20 in the top ten and five that topped the chart.

He has had more than 120 tracks on the Hot Country Songs Chart including 86 in the top ten with 44 that reached number one and 37 on the Hot 100. He received 16 nominations for Grammy Awards with one win for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for 'Troubadour' in 2008 and he was nominated for 51 Country Music Awards and 51 Academy of Country Music Awards including 17 wins apiece. He is also an inductee of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Born in a suburb of San Antonio, Texas he took an interest in music growing up, influenced not only by country icons such as Hank Williams, George Jones, Merle Haggard and Lefty Frizzell but also The Beatles and Frank Sinatra. After military service, he attended college and played in country band Stoney Ridge which later became Ace in the Hole Band. They made recordings that sold locally until 1981 when he recorded a song called 'Unwound' on the MCA label. It reached number six on the Billboard Country Chart and launched his career as a solo artist with the members of Ace in the Hole Band as his back-up group.

His debut solo album 'Strait Country' went to number 26 on the Country Albums Chart and his follow-up 'Strait from the Heart' peaked at number 18. It featured the track 'Fool Hearted Memory' which became his first number one hit single. Chart-topping singles and albums followed throughout the decades after.

Strait starred in the 1992 feature film 'Pure Country', with a soundtrack that became his best-selling release. In 2012, he announced that he would retire from touring following a massive series of concerts that would last through 2014. A concert recording, 'The Cowboy Rides Away: Live from AT&T Stadium' with accompanying DVD came out in September 2014. He continued to record, however, with his latest 'Cold Beer Conversation' making number one in 2015. He also continued to perform in Las Vegas with appearances at the T-Mobile Arena in 2018 with 2019 dates set for Houston, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia.