The king of country music, George Strait, turned 60 back on May 18. So a big happy birthday goes out to the reigning king of country music, George Strait. He’s had a very long career and an interesting life, much of it has been spent outside the glitter and glare of Nashville. Here’s a few things that you may or may not know about George that I found to be very interesting.
George’s parents, Doris and John, divorced when he and his siblings were young. Following their divorce his mother left with their sister, and the boys were raised by their father. George has remained a private person about the relationship he has with his mother and sister. However, George was close with his older brother Buddy, who he organized the George Strait Team Roping Classic.
A George Strait interview is an extreme rarity. This is not because he’s shy or a diva. It’s just because he does not like doing them. He prefers to keep a low profile and focus on his family and his music.
Something else that George doesn’t like doing is music videos.
George served in the U.S. Army. He enlisted in 1971, and was stationed in Hawaii as part of the 25th Infantry division. He married Norma soon after, and on October 6, 1972 they had their first child, Jenifer.
In 1975, George was honorably discharged from the Army. He then returned back to the state of Texas and went to college where he earned a degree in Agriculture from Southwest Texas State University, which is now known as Texas State University in San Marcos.
George hasn’t always been confident though about the material he’s written. For instance, he never thought “Living And Living Well” was that strong of a song. The public, though, begged to differ, because it went all the way to Number 1 in 2002. However, George also confessed that he can’t remember all of his songs. I can't blame the guy with as many songs he has written and sang in 30+ year music career.
If you think George’s first movie role was Pure Country, like I did you’d be wrong. Back in 1982, George appeared as himself in the film The Soldier, an film about terrorists plotting to detonate a plutonium bomb in a Saudi oil field. Perhaps George and Chuck Norris have something in common.
George doesn’t talk much about the loss of his daughter Jenifer. She was just 13 years old when she died in a car accident in 1986. Jenifer was the passenger and was ejected from the vehicle and killed instantly.
In an interview with USA Today, George admitted that his 2005 song “You’ll Be There” makes him think of his daughter. “I’m a religious person. I honestly believe we will see each other in heaven someday,” he said. “I wanted to do the song badly. The writer, Cory Mayo, held that song out because he knew I wanted to do it, and he waited until I had the chance. It was kind of him to do that.”
One of George’s biggest regrets in his career is laying down his songwriting pen early in his career. On his first few albums George wrote quite a bit, but gave it up when other things got in the way.
George’s son Bubba helped his dad get back into writing again. Bubba helped by co-writing seven of the songs on Here for a Good Time.
It’s hard to believe that the current ‘king of country music’ is not a member of the Opry, but it’s true. We’re not exactly sure why, but there is speculation that one possible reason is that since George lives in Texas, it’s hard for him to really make the time commitment to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. I hope to see George one day as a member of the Grand Ole Opry though.
Not only does George hold the record for more Number 1 hits than any other artist, but he also has the most CMA and ACM wins and nominations in country music history. However, George is closing in on yet another record as well, for the most Top 10 records. Eddy Arnold currently holds that record with 92. To beat him, George would need to make about 3 more albums.
George may have more Number One hits than any other country artist, with nearly 60 of them and still counting. However, not all of his best songs made it big. Some of them only reached Top 5 or Top 10. Songs that didn’t hit the top of the charts include “Run,” “The Fireman,” “True” and in more recent years “You’ll Be There” and “Wrapped.”
Information retrieved from http://wqyk.cbslocal.com/2012/05/18/ten-things-about-george-strait-who-turned-60-friday/
No comments:
Post a Comment