50 Fun Facts About George Strait

In which Texas town was George Strait born in 1952?

He grew up in nearby Pearsall, where his father taught junior high maths and ran a 2,000-acre cattle ranch.

Strait holds the record for the most number one songs on all charts by any artist in any genre. How many?

Forty-four of them topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, itself a record.

Strait's high school garage band, the Stoics, took most of its inspiration from which group?

He came to country later, through live shows rather than radio, which he mostly used for the news and farm report.

While serving in the US Army, Strait sang with an Army-sponsored country band. Where was he stationed?

The band was called Rambling Country and played off-base as Santee; he left the Army as a corporal in 1975.

Strait eloped with his high school sweetheart Norma in 1971. Where did they marry?

Their daughter Jenifer was born the next year while he was still stationed in Hawaii.

Strait graduated from Southwest Texas State University with a degree in what?

The school, now Texas State, gave him an honorary doctorate in 2006, and he endowed its Freeman Ranch.

Strait joined a college group called Stoney Ridge and renamed it what?

The same band has backed him for his entire solo career, right through the Cowboy Rides Away Tour.

Before MCA signed him, Strait had accepted a job doing what and nearly quit music?

His wife Norma persuaded him to give music one more year, and MCA signed him in February 1981.

How big was Strait's initial MCA Records deal in 1981?

If the single did well, the label would consider an album; the single was 'Unwound'.

What was Strait's first single for MCA, which reached number six in 1981?

It appeared on his debut album Strait Country, hailed as a 'new-traditionalist' breakthrough.

Which 1982 song gave Strait his first number one hit?

It came from his second album, Strait from the Heart.

Who originally wrote and recorded Strait's signature song 'Amarillo by Morning' in 1973?

Strait's version peaked in the top five in 1983 and became a rodeo anthem.

Strait's first Houston Rodeo appearance in 1983 came filling in for which flu-stricken headliner?

He has since played the rodeo more than 20 times for over a million fans.

Which 1987 album was the first country album by any artist to debut at number one?

Its title track and 'All My Ex's Live in Texas' were part of a run of 11 straight number ones.

How many consecutive number one singles did Strait release between 1986 and 1989?

The streak began with 'Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her' and ended with 'Ace in the Hole'.

Strait's daughter Jenifer died in a car accident in 1986. How old was she?

The family set up the Jenifer Lyn Strait Foundation for children's charities in San Antonio, and he stopped doing interviews for years.

'Love Without End, Amen' in 1990 was Strait's first single to do what?

It and 'I've Come to Expect It From You' each held the top spot for five weeks.

Which cover peaked at only number 24 in 1991 and ended Strait's streak of 31 straight top-ten hits?

The album Chill of an Early Fall still produced two number ones.

In which 1992 film did Strait make his acting debut as a burnt-out singing star?

Its soundtrack became his most successful studio album, with 'Heartland' and 'I Cross My Heart'.

What is the name of the character Strait plays in his 1992 movie?

Fans do not even notice when he skips several bars of his hit 'Where the Sidewalk Ends', which sets the plot in motion.

The 1995 four-disc career box set became the second-best-selling box set ever. What was it called?

It shipped eight million copies in the US and included the new number one 'Check Yes or No'.

What was the touring package he headlined from 1997 to 2001, promising to visit no market more than twice?

Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney and Alan Jackson were among the acts on the bill.

Which 2000 release was the first studio album of his career not to be certified platinum?

It still hit number one on the country chart, but produced no number one singles.

What was his 2004 greatest hits package, titled after his tally of chart-toppers, called?

The new track 'I Hate Everything' promptly became number 51.

In which year was Strait inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame?

He was only the second artist after Eddy Arnold to be inducted while still actively recording and charting.

It Just Comes Natural and its follow-up were recorded in Key West at a studio owned by which musician?

Shrimp Boat Sound was reportedly chosen partly because Strait's allergies stayed quiet there.

In 2007 Strait headlined a 23-date arena tour with Ronnie Milsap and which then-newcomer?

The same year 'Wrapped' became his 55th overall number one.

He won his first and only Grammy, for Best Country Album, with which 2008 record?

Its lead single 'I Saw God Today' debuted at number 19, the highest debut of his career.

In 2009 the Academy of Country Music named Strait Artist of the Decade. Which previous holder presented it?

That June he also headlined the first event at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

In 2009 Strait broke whose record for the most chart-toppers on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart?

His 44 topped Twitty's 40.

'Living for the Night' in 2009 was co-written by Strait, Dean Dillon and which family member?

George Jr. is a Texas A&M graduate who competed as a professional team roper.

The '60 for 60' campaign aimed to make which 2012 single his 60th chart-topper while he was still 60?

It reached the top of the Mediabase chart in May 2013; the follow-up 'I Believe' was his first single to miss the top 40.

In which three years was Strait named CMA Entertainer of the Year?

He also took the ACM equivalent in 1990 and 2014, and holds the record for most CMA and ACM wins.

In which city did the Cowboy Rides Away Tour open in January 2013?

Martina McBride opened the 2013 leg, and the tour ran 21 shows that year and 26 in 2014.

How many people attended the final Cowboy Rides Away concert at AT&T Stadium in June 2014?

It set the record for the largest indoor concert in North America and grossed more than $18 million.

In June 2024 Strait set the US record for a single-act ticketed concert at which venue?

The crowd of 110,905 beat a Grateful Dead record from 1977; Zach Bryan topped it the following year.

Strait's 2018 single 'Codigo' is named after what?

He has also fronted Wrangler's National Patriot campaign since 2010.

From 1983 to 2017 Strait hosted an annual event in which rodeo discipline?

The George Strait Team Roping Classic started in Kingsville and later moved to the San Antonio Rose Palace.

Strait is a second cousin of the mother of which billionaire?

A Texas connection nobody sees coming.

How many of Strait's albums are RIAA-certified gold or platinum, an all-time record?

The RIAA ranks him the 12th best-selling album artist in US history with over 70 million sold.

What was the title of his 1981 debut album, which carried the single 'Unwound'?

Critics hailed it as a new-traditionalist breakthrough that bucked the pop-leaning country of the era, and it carried the top-20 hit 'Down and Out'.

Who broke Strait's 2024 US single-act attendance record the following year at Michigan Stadium?

Strait had taken the record from the Grateful Dead, whose 1977 show at Raceway Park in New Jersey drew 107,019 fans.

Strait grew up in which Frio County town, where his father taught junior high mathematics?

His father also ran a 2,000-acre cattle ranch outside Big Wells, where the family worked on weekends and summers.

Strait's 2003 live album captured the final Houston rodeo concert held at which venue?

The show drew a paid crowd of 68,266, breaking the venue record Selena had set in 1995.

Who was the opening performer for the 2013 leg of the Cowboy Rides Away Tour?

The 2014 leg rotated a roster of openers including Eric Church, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill and Kenny Chesney.

Strait served in the US Army from 1971 to 1975. What rank did he reach?

He enlisted as an infantryman with the 25th Infantry Division and was discharged honorably before enrolling at Southwest Texas State.

Which bar owner and former MCA executive became Strait's longtime manager?

Woolsey lured Music Row contacts to Texas to hear the band, but they left without a deal, worried they couldn't market Western swing.

'Give It Away' made which co-writer the first with a number one in five different decades?

'Whispering Bill' Anderson's writing credits stretch from the 1950s; the song led off 2006's It Just Comes Natural.

Which 1983 album was Strait's first to reach number one?

It kicked off a string of five straight chart-toppers across 1983 and 1984, and its follow-up won the CMA Album of the Year.

Strait's 1970s band cut a few of his own songs for which Houston-based independent label?

Tracks like 'I Can't Go On Dying Like This' went nowhere, and Strait kept running the family cattle ranch by day.