ArizonaRealCountry.com 33 April 2018 • His nicknames are “King George” and “The King of Country.” His middle name is Harvey. • George has a line of western shirts and jeans by Wrangler, cowboy hats by Resistol and cowboy boots by Justin. He is an avid golfer and co-owner of the Resort at Tapatio Springs in Boerne, Texas. • His mother left when he was young. Strait’s parents divorced when he was in the fourth grade. His mother Doris moved away with his sister. George and his brother John Jr., also known as “Buddy,” were raised by their father, a math teacher. The family lived on a ranch in Pearsall, Texas. George eloped with his high school sweetheart, Norma Voss. The two married in Mexico on December 4, 1971. Forty-five years later, George and Norma are still going strong. • Shortly after he married Norma, Strait enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was stationed in Hawaii as part of the 25th Infantry Division. His time in the service helped further his music career. Although he had formed a garage band in high school, Strait’s first taste of country fame was with his U.S. Army-sponsored band, Rambling Country. He has partnered with the Military Warriors Support Foundation to award 100 percent mortgage-free homes to combat wounded heroes. • He has a degree in agriculture. There’s a reason Strait is so convincing in those Tractor Supply Co. commercials. The King knows his stuff when it comes to ranch livin’. In 1975, Strait enrolled at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State) and earned his degree. • George Strait’s 13-year-old daughter passed away in a car accident in 1986. “I just kind of shut down,” he says. “I just didn’t feel like talking about it, so I quit doing interviews.” In 1988, he released a sad song called “Baby Blue” which was dedicated to his daughter. • George Sr. isn’t the only musically-inclined member of his family. His son George Jr., known as “Bubba,” has co-written several songs with his famous dad, including “Arkansas Dave” and “Living for the Night.” They co-wrote his No. 1 hit, “Here for a Good Time,” with legendary songwriter Dean Dillon. • It’s hard to believe, but George was actually fired as a singer in a country band for not sounding country enough. He moved on after finding a flyer for a country band that needed a lead singer and a Texas star was born. He played his first shows in his college town bar cutting his country music teeth in San Marcos, Texas at the Cheatham Street Warehouse. Strait and his band gained a huge following throughout central Texas, playing regular slots at Cheatham Street and nearby Gruene Hall. Cheatham Street proprietor Kent Finlay even drove Strait to Nashville to record his first demos. • His backing band, Ace in the Hole, formed in 1975 and still includes multiple original members and others who have played in the group for 20-plus years. George made a brief appearance with Ace in the Hole in a 1982 film called “The Soldier.” He also appeared on an episode of “Hee Haw” in 1983, performing “Amarillo by Morning” and “A Fire I Can’t Put Out” and was a guest performer on “The Perry Como Christmas Special” in 1986. He starred as a character named Dusty Chandler in the 1992 film “Pure Country.” George voiced a trucker named Cornell in an episode of the animated TV series, “King of the Hill,” in 2003. • He holds the record for the largest indoor concert in North America. Even the Rolling Stones are no match for George Strait. At his 2014 concert in Arlington, Texas, Strait broke the Stones’ record for the largest indoor concert when 104,793 fans crowded in the AT&T Stadium. Strait’s innovative tours are just part of the reason his net worth is over $300 million. When Strait started out he was seen as a sex-symbol and used to have to donate all the flowers that women gave him to local hospitals because he had no room for them on his tour bus. • He’s not a member of the Grand Ole Opry despite being the King of Country. Strait reportedly turned down an invitation to become a member of the historic organization. It has been speculated that the reason George has not joined is that the Opry requires a certain number of appearances per year and Nashville is a long way from Texas. • Since 1981, Strait has been recording for the same label, MCA Nashville, outlasting virtually all the executives and fellow artists. “Unwound” was originally pitched to Johnny Paycheck, before George Strait decided to record it. “He was in jail, so they gave it to me” Strait recalls. It was his first hit and it reached No. 6 in 1981. His first No. 1 hit was “Fool Hearted Memory” in 1982. “Love Without End, Amen” was his first hit to be No. 1 for multiple weeks, topping the charts for five weeks in 1990. He recorded “Fly Me to the Moon” as a duet with Frank Sinatra in 1994. He has also recorded duets with Patty Loveless, Lee Ann Womack, Kenny Chesney and Jimmy Buffett. George Strait has had eighty-six singles on Billboard’s Top 10 country chart, and more than half of them have gone to No. 1. George Strait prefers to not tell his own story in his songs. “I don’t think there’s anything autobiographical about my material unless it’s subconsciously,” Strait said. “I just look for a song I like, and when I hear it I know it right away.” He holds the record for most CMA awards in country music history. The King has 83 CMA nominations and 23 wins, including three wins for Entertainer of the Year. • George Strait records in a tiny studio in Key West owned by Jimmy Buffet. When Strait isn’t wearing his cowboy hat, he often goes unrecognized in public. A woman in Key West walked up to a shirtless Strait as he sat outside of a recording studio and spoke to him. She said, “My husband says that George Strait is in there, cutting a record, and I told him that can’t be true. Why would he cut a record in this little place?” Strait said to the woman: “Honey, I was just in there, and I didn’t see him. GEORGE STRAIT Just the Facts He’s a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. George Strait doesn’t just sing about being a cowboy, he lives the life. Strait, along with his son Bubba, is a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Strait and his brother Buddy started the George Strait Team Roping Classic in 1982 which he judges every year. It is the only event Strait makes a yearly appearance at, usually arriving on horseback. When Strait plays in Las Vegas he flies in on a plane he owns and stays at “The Mansion”, a semi-private hotel hidden next to the MGM Grand. 96.3 Real Country, KSWG, is proud to present George Strait at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday, December 7th and Saturday, December 8th, 2018.