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BIO-DISCOGRAPHY 1952 - 1998

GEORGE STRAIT, country singer from Texas, was born in Poteet in 1952 and he was brought up in a texan ranch in Pearsall.
In the 70's he starts his career by playing live in the texan bars (honky-tonks) until he is signed up by the MCA Nashville record company in 1981.
Since that year to 1999 he has always been on the top of the Country Billboard charts and, recently, his albums peaked in the pop charts too: his album,'ONE STEP AT A TIME'(1998)peaked at no. 2 just under the original soundtrack of the movie 'Titanic'. In 1997, even better, he was first with his album 'CARRYING YOUR LOVE WITH ME' both in the pop and in the country chart.
Strait is, as a matter of fact, a modern 'singin' cowboy'. He's considered by his audience as the singer of 'Pure Country' and he is appreciated by his collegues, older and younger than him, and , among these, even by the myth of the new country music, Garth Brooks.
His awards, until now, are several, too. The last and the most recent one is '1998 COUNTRY MALE VOCALIST'. His last cd 'ALWAYS NEVER THE SAME' is already and again on the top of the charts.

BIO-DISCOGRAFIA 1952 - 1998

GEORGE STRAIT, cantante country originario del Texas, nasce a Poteet nel 1952 e viene allevato e cresciuto in un ranch texano a Pearsall.
Negli anni'70 fa la sua gavetta suonando dal vivo nei locali texani (honky-tonks) fino al contratto con la MCA Nashville nel 1981.
Da quell'anno al 1999 è sempre stato ai vertici delle classifiche Billboard Country e, recentemente, i suoi albums si sono piazzati in vetta anche alle classifiche pop: il suo album, 'ONE STEP AT A TIME'(1998) si è,infatti classificato 2° dopo la colonna sonora del film 'Titanic'. Nel 1997, invece, è arrivato primo con l'album 'CARRYING YOUR LOVE WITH ME' in entrambe le classifiche:pop e country.
Strait è a tutti gli effetti un moderno 'singing cowboy', è riconosciuto dal pubblico come il cantante del 'Country Puro'ed è stimato dai colleghi più anziani e più giovani e, tra questi, anche dal mito del new country, Garth Brooks.
Anche i riconoscimenti (awards) ottenuti ad oggi sono svariati. L'ultimo e più recente è 'CANTANTE MASCHILE COUNTRY 1998'. Il suo ultimo cd 'ALWAYS NEVER THE SAME' è già di nuovo ai vertici delle classfiche.

1952-1971: THE TEXAN ROOTS AND THE EARLY YEARS

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1971-1975: MARRIAGE (NORMA), COLLEGE (AGRICOLTURE) AND MILITARY SERVICE (COUNTRY MUSIC!)

After his military discharge STRAIT tries to make ends meet by remaining in Hawaii and working as a country singer. But supporting a family, such a difficult task to face, makes him come back, only six month later, to his native land where he re-enrols at Southwest Texas State University, aiming for a degree in Agriculture. Notwithstanding this, his musical ambition goes on with the creation of a college band called 'The Ace In The Hole'. He soon starts living a 'double life' mixing classes by day with gigs by night. (to follow)

1975-1981: FROM TEXAS HONKY TONKS AND D-RECORDS
TO MCA-NASHVILLE, THROUGH A DEGREE,
WITH THE ACE IN THE HOLE!
('... MAN, YOU SOUND GREAT, BUT TAKE THAT COWBOY HAT OFF!')

In the second half of the 70's, STRAIT's and the ACE's reputation is growing and it is further enhanced in the South Texas area with three singles released on the Houston based D Records between 1976 and 1979 and produced by H. W. 'Pappy' Daily (better known due to his previous work with George Jones). Today, the 'A' sides of them, all written by STRAIT, are available on the 1995 4 cd box-set 'STRAIT OUT OF THE BOX'. Actually,these pre-MCA attempts fail to achieve any great sales, so, STRAIT finds that success may not come easy to him.
DECEMBER 1979: GEORGE achieves his agricoltural degree and so he is supposed to decide about his immediate future and his life. 'Ranching isn't a 'nine-to-five job' - he later will be stating - 'and with hardly enough time to get ready for an evening's show after a day's toil...'. So, he begins seriously thinking about quitting music. (to follow)

1981: STRAIT COUNTRY (THE HAT IS ON!)

The week of May 16 'UNWOUND' breaks into the BILLBOARD chart (just in time for GEORGE's 29th birthday - May 18) peaking at #6.
SEPTEMBER: the GEORGE STRAIT's debut-album STRAIT COUNTRY is issued. The title is a playing with his name and with the fact that STRAIT's music is (said to be) really country music, strait country, pure country. This won't be simply a title for a debut-album but also something he will be carrying on with himself throughout his entire career. His audience will always be listening to the 'sound of the American heart' from this year to the present days.

1982: STRAIT FROM THE HEART: THE 'SOLDIER' STRAIT HAS GOT A 'FOOL HEARTED MEMORY' TO HIT THE ROAD

JUNE: 'FOOL HEARTED MEMORY' debuts in the BILLBOARD chart (June 19) peaking at # 1 within few weeks (August 28). It is both STRAIT's first Billboard # 1 single and his film debut performed during a barroom brawl scene in the movie 'THE SOLDIER. STRAIT, not so much struck by the song, picks up the opportunity to sing in a movie. Actually, STRAIT was right: FOOL HEARTED MEMORY was and it is a song arranged so as to be a catching #1 hit. With a fiddle starting and refraining in the middle of the song to make it pass as 'country flavoured', it could easily be one of the best tunes sung by Agnetha and Frida that is the ABBA, the Hit-Makers, Swedish Pop Group, in that period (1973-1982)! 'Pop', 'Crossover' or 'Country', GEORGE is able to display all his qualities by singing it wonderfully!
In June, after less than one year, his second album, STRAIT FROM THE HEART is released, too.

1983: 'COUNTRY' OR 'CROSSOVER', 'RIGHT' OR'WRONG'

(P-U-R-E S-T-R-A-I-T C-O-U-N-T-R-Y & R-I-G-H-T !)

1984: DOES FORT WORTH EVER CROSS YOUR MIND:
ALL BY STRAITSELF (BUT MUSIC AND LYRICS!)

In April, the Academy of Country Music in L.A. names Strait their 'MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR'.
In May, Jimmy Bowen* becomes the new chief of the Mca's country division, replacing Jim Foglesong who had signed STRAIT. Despite a reputation of being a 'kind' cleaning out his entire record company staffs when taking the reins at a record division, Bowen becomes STRAIT's new producer. Besides, he insists that STRAIT take on the role of co-producer with him according to his philosophy that an artist should be in control of his or her music.
So STRAIT starts finding songs, helping to work out solutions for musical arrangements, just doing his own music, building his own records and controlling which songs he is going to cut.
The result of this hard but wise work is the forceful album DOES FORT WORTH EVER CROSS YOUR MIND

* Jimmy Bowen is the same Jimmy Bowen to be charted at #14 (Billboard Pop Charts) with the song 'I'm Stickin' With You' in 1957 (on Roulette 4001 - the first single edited by this record company) and usually he is related to Buddy Knox and his rock'n'roll (tex-mex) hit-single (a #1) 'Party Doll'.

1985: GREATEST HITS AND SOMETHING SPECIAL

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1986: JENIFER

JUNE: on June, 26 GEORGE and NORMA are struck by a family tragedy: their eldest daughter, Jenifer, just 13, dies in a car accident near San Marcos.
GEORGE never wanted to discuss his feelings about that with the press and he never liked to express his heart in agony to anyone.
Despite those days being really painful days, STRAIT respects 'the rule and the role of being a successful singer' without disappointing his fans and keeping his committements and, by September, he manages to record his first (and unique) 'seasonal' album: MERRY CHRISTMAS STRAIT TO YOU . After this, he sets to work again on another album, that fall.
So, the MERRY CHRISTMAS album is also 'the first' album to be recorded and issued after the Jennifer's death. STRAIT was singing his best wishes to everyone and nobody could be saying to him:'Merry Christmas Strait to you, too, George!', that year. A smiling, happy STRAIT is shown on the cover but - let's say - it's only a Christmas 'make believe' due to a 'record policy'. This 1986 Christmas (and not only the Xmas day!) could not be that 'happy day' to the Strait's without their Jenifer. This tragedy was happening just when GEORGE's life and carrier were beautifully taking off. No consolation the #7 album going gold or repeated #1 hits. Only when receiving (again) the CMA award as 'COUNTRY MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR', STRAIT dedicates it to his Jenifer (October). But, just like a show on the stage, GEORGE's life and career were supposed to go on , despite that tragedy, year after year, round after round... smiling again (in his life rather than on his covers) and the sun shining once more and more than once.

1987: LIFE GOES ON, ONE MORE ROUND, LIFE GOES ON...

Little rose you look so dry, it won't be long, you're gonna die
No final end but change of state, well there is hope, don't be afraid...

(refrain): Life goes on, one more round, Life goes on
Life goes on, one more round, Life goes on...

Dear brother, always on my mind, I hear your voice from time to time
Heavenbound, your life is new, this little song I wrote for you... (refrain)

Just like a seed that has to die, it's giving birth to a tree so high
I guess you know the time has come,the whole world got to sing along...(refrain)

When you're down and you can't get up, misunderstood and out of luck
You see no light, it's getting hard, tomorrow brings a brand new start...

(refrain): Life goes on...

('LIFE GOES ON' - 1996 - lyrics by GEORGE McANTHONY - Italy - Winner Of The European Country Music Award '1997 BEST EUROPEAN MALE VOCALIST')

JANUARY-FEBRUARY: His ninth album, 'OCEAN FRONT PROPERTY', debuts on BILLBOARD's country album charts at the #1 spot (something never happened before in the history of the BILLBOARD charts). Only a month after its release, the album is the best-selling in country music.

1988: IF YOU AIN'T LOVING...

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1989: BEYOND THE BLUE NEON
(THERE'S THE FIRST ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR AWARD!)

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1990: STRAIT WITHOUT END, AMEN!

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1991: THE CHILL OF AN EARLY FALL
OR THE WARM OF A LATE SPRING?

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1992: 'HEARTLAND'
OR 'WHEN YOU HEAR TWIN FIDDLES AND A STEEL GUITAR ...'

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1993: '... YOU'RE LISTENING TO THE SOUND OF 'PURE COUNTRY' AND OF THE 'AMERICAN HEART'

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1994: STRAIT TO THE MOON

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1995: STRAIT OUT OF THE BOX AND IN THE COUNTRY'S HISTORY ('... I DO LIKE YOUR MUSIC BUT CAN YOU PUT A HAT ON?')

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1996: STRA-'E.T.'
('... HOME, HOME, PHONE HOME, PHONE TEXAS...'
'... I'LL ALWAYS BE RIGHT HERE ...')

's 1996 concerts break attendance records set earlier by HANK WILLIAMS SR. and... ELVIS PRESLEY (!) and several other records set previously by... himself!

1997: CARRYING YOUR LOVE WITH ME

'Strait Relax' on 'Country Weekly' (09/30/97) - Photo Credit: 'Country Weekly'

In 1997, it is announced that GEORGE has sold more records than any other artist in MCA-Nashville's history.

1998: THE 'PRINCE CHARMING' OF PURE COUNTRY
(IN BLUE, WHITE HAT)
STRIKES BACK AND HE JUST WANTS TO DANCE WITH YOU!
(... AND WE ALL KNOW THAT GIRLS PREFER PRINCES CHARMING RATHER THAN SOME 'NEW COUNTRY' KINGS!)

MARCH: STRAIT kicks off the 18-city GEORGE STRAIT CHEVY TRUCK COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL.
APRIL 7: the single 'I JUST WANT TO DANCE WITH YOU' is released. STRAIT is also on the soundtrack of the movie 'THE HORSE WHISPERER' singing a traditional, 'RED RIVER VALLEY'.
APRIL 21: 'ONE STEP AT A TIME' , STRAIT's 23rd album for MCA Nashville, is in music stores (debut at #1 on the Country chart and at # 2 on the Pop chart).
APRIL 22: STRAIT wins 2 ACM awards.
JUNE 7: the stadium tour ends in Houston having played to nearly one million people and grossing almost 35 millions dollars making it one of Pollstar's highest grossing tours of 1998.
JULY 10 and 11: STRAIT's 16th ANNUAL GEORGE STRAIT TEAM ROPING CLASSIC event takes place in Kingsville,TX.
SEPTEMBER: STRAIT is the CMA 1998 BEST MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR (only 1 award out of 5 nominations but having broken the record set by Merle Haggard with a total of 47 Career Nominations and being the best male vocalist for the third time in a row!).

1999*: IN THE MEANWHILE... GEORGE STRAIT
ALWAYS NEVER THE SAME!

JANUARY: 5, a new cd-single, 'MEANWHILE' b/w 'YOU HAVEN'T LEFT ME YET'' is the brand new, immediate, 1999 release from the next to come album 'ALWAYS NEVER THE SAME' scheduled for March 2.
Always the same (1999) spring tour but also 'ALWAYS NEVER THE SAME'!
MARCH: 2, 'ALWAYS NEVER THE SAME' , his 24th album, is issued and THE NEW 1999 'GEORGE STRAIT COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL' (including the fun area called 'STRAITLAND') is kicked off (March, 6).

* PLEASE NOTE: The new up to-dated 1952-1986 + 1987-2000 GS bio-discography will soon be on-line!
(Research and Contents © by STRAITALY)

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