Buy Straitest Hits at Rock.com
right or wrong mca (1990)
something special mca (1990)
strait country mca (1990)
strait from the heart mca (1990)
#7 mca (1990)
ocean front property mca (1990)
beyond the blue neon mca (1990)
livin it up mca (1990)
does fort wirth ever cross your mind mca (1990)
if you ain't loving you ain't living mca (1990)
greatest hits mca (1990)
greatest hits 2 mca (1990)
chill of an early fall mca (1991)
ten strait hits mca (1991)
holding my own mca (1992)
pure country / o.s.t. mca (1992)
easy come easy go mca (1993)
lead on mca (1994)
strait out of the box mca (1995)
blue clear sky mca (1996)
carrying your love with me mca (1997)
live mca (1997) vhs video
one step at a time mca (1998)
one step at a time (dts) digital sound(1998)
meanwhile / ypu haven't left me yet mca (1999) cd single
always never the same mca (1999)
latest greatest straitest hits mca (2000)
|
|
|
|
Out of all the new country singers to emerge in the early '80s, George Strait stayed the closest to traditional country. Drawing from both the honky tonk and western swing traditions, Strait didn't refashion the genres; instead, he revitalized them for a new decade. In the process, he beccame one of the most popular and influential singers of the decade, sparking a wave of neo-traditionalist singers from Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam to Clint Black, Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson. Strait was born and raised in Texas, the son of a junior high school teacher who also owned and operated a ranch that had been in the Strait family for nearly hundred years. When George was a child, his mother left the family, taking her daughter but leaving behind her sons with the father. During his childhood, he would spend his weekdays in town and his weekends on the ranch. Strait began playing music as a teenager, joining a rock & roll garage band.
After his high school graduation in the late '60s, George enrolled in college but he soon dropped out and eloped with his high school sweetheart Norma. In 1971, Strait enlisted in the Army; two years later, he was stationed Hawaii. While in Hawaii, he began playing country music, initially with an Army-sponsored country band called Rambling Country. They played several dates off the base under the name Santee. Strait left the army in 1975, returning to Texas with the intent of completing his education. He enroled in Southwest Texas State University at San Marcos, where he studied agriculture. While he was studying, he formed his own country band, Ace in the Hole.
Ace in the Hole made a few records for the independent Dallas-based label D in the late '70s, but they never went anywhere. Toward the end of the decade, Strait attempted to carve out a niche in Nashville, but he failed since he lacked any strong connections. In 1979, he became friends with Erv Woolsey, a Texas club owner that had formerly worked for MCA Records. Woolsey had several MCA executives come down to Texas to hear Strait. His performance convinced the company to sign him in 1980.
"Unwound," George's first single, was released in the spring of 1981 and climbed into the Top Ten. The follow-up, "Down and Out," stalled at 16, but "If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger (There's One Coming Home)" reached number three in early 1982. The song sparked a remarkable string of Top Ten hits that ran well into the '90s. During that time he had an astonishing 31 number one singles, beginning with 1982's "Fool Hearted Memory."
Throughout the '80s, he dominated the country singles charts and his albums consistently went platinum or gold. Strait rarely abandoned hardcore honky tonk and western swing -- toward the beginning of the '90s, his sound became a little slicker, but it was only a relative change. George was also one of the few '80s superstars to survive the generational shift of the early '90s that began with the phenomenal success of Garth Brooks. In 1992, he made his first movie, Pure Country, which featured him in the lead role. George released a four-disc box set career retrospective, Strait Out of the Box, in 1995. By the spring of 1996, it had become one of the five-biggest selling box sets in popular music history. Blue Clear Sky, his 1996 album, debuted on the country charts at number one and the pop charts at number seven. In 1997, he released Carrying Your Love with Me following it with One Step at a Time in 1998. Always Never the Same appeared a year later
|
Albums
| Year | Label | Title | |
| 1981 | MCA Records | Strait Country (1st LP) | |
| 1982 | MCA Records | Strait From The Heart | |
| 1982 | MCA Records | Strait Country/Strait From The Heart | |
| 1983 | MCA Records | Right Or Wrong | |
| 1984 | MCA Records | Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind | |
| 1985 | MCA Records | Something Special | |
| 1985 | MCA Records | Greatest Hits | |
| 1986 | MCA Records | Number 7 | |
| 1986 | Universal Special Markets | Merry Christmas Strait To You | |
| 1987 | MCA Records | Ocean Front Property | |
| 1987 | MCA Records | Greatest Hits, Vol 2 | |
| 1988 | MCA Records | If You Ain't Lovin' You Ain't Livin' | |
| 1989 | MCA Records | Beyond The Blue Neon | |
| 1990 | MCA Records | Livin' It Up | |
| 1991 | MCA Records | The Chill Of An Early Fall | |
| 1991 | MCA Records | Ten Strait Hits | |
| 1992 | MCA Records | Pure Country (Soundtrack) | |
| 1992 | MCA Records | Holding My Own | |
| 1993 | MCA Records | Easy Come, Easy Go | |
| 1994 | MCA Records | Lead On | |
| 1995 | MCA Nashville | Strait Out Of The Box [Box] | |
| 1996 | MCA Records | Blue Clear Sky | |
| 1997 | MCA Records | Carrying Your Love With Me | |
| 1998 | Universal Special Markets | Pure Strait [Limited Edition] | |
| 1998 | MCA Nashville | One Step At A Time | |
| 1999 | MCA Nashville | Merry Christmas Wherever You Are | |
| 1999 | MCA Nashville | Always Never The Same | |
| 2000 | MCA Nashville | Latest Greatest Straitest Hits [3/7] | |
Singles
| Year | Label | Title |
| 1990 | MCA Records | Drinkin' Champagne | |
| 1991 | MCA Records | The Chill Of An Early Fall | |
| 1991 | MCA Records | If I Know Me | |
| 1992 | MCA Records | When Did You Stop Loving Me | |
| 1993 | MCA Records | I'd Like To Have That One Back | |
| 1993 | MCA Records | Easy Come, Easy Go | |
| 1994 | MCA Records | You Can't Make A Heart Love... | |
| 1994 | MCA Records | The Big One | |
| 1994 | MCA Records | Man In Love With You | |
| 1994 | MCA Records | Love Bug | |
| 1995 | MCA Records | Adalida | |
| 1999 | MCA Records | What Do You Say To That | |
| 1999 | MCA Nashville | Meanwhile | |
|
|
|
|
