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George Harvey
Strait was born May 18, 1952 in Poteet, Texas. He grew up on his
family's 2000-acre
ranch near Pearsall, Texas with his father, John
Strait, and his older brother, Buddy. John Strait was
a Junior High Math teacher, but he also tended cattle on the family ranch along
with his two sons on
the weekend. George's parents divorced when
he was in the fourth grade. George and Buddy remained
with their
father, while their younger sister, Pency, lived with their mother.
When George wasn't busy
working on the ranch, he spent his time in
town. As a teenager, George began playing music, and he
even
joined a rock 'n roll garage band. After his graduation in the
late 60's, George tried his hand at
college, but he soon dropped out
and eloped with his high school sweetheart, Norma. They eloped
to
Mexico, but they repeated their vows in a church back in the states
for their families a few weeks
later on December 4, 1971.
Shortly after, George enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Hawaii
where he began playing country music. In 1972, still in Hawaii,
George and Norma had their first
child, a daughter named Jenifer.
In 1975, George left the army and headed back to Texas where he
enrolled once again in college. While he was studying
Agriculture in San Marcos, Texas, he formed his
own country band - Ace
In The Hole. The band went nowhere at first, until George's
friend and
manager, Erv Woolsey, convinced MCA to listen to George.
He was signed by the company in 1980.
George's first single, "Unwound" was a hit and climbed the charts in 1981. This was
only the
beginning of George's legendary music career; with such hits
as "If You're Thinking You Want A
Stranger", "Fool-Hearted Memory",
"Marina Del Ray", "Amarillo By Morning", "You Look So Good In
Love", and the list goes on and on. George and Norma had another reason
to celebrate that year, as
well. Their second child, George, Jr.
(Bubba), was born on May 14, 1981. However, in 1986, tragedy
struck the Strait family when they lost their 13-year old daughter, Jenifer, in an automobile
accident. But through the
good times and the bad, George Strait has continued to dominant the
country music scene. As quoted on George's Official Website -
George Strait.com - "Only three of
George Strait's 61 MCA singles (to
date) over a 19-year period have peaked outside the top-10 on
Billboard's charts". George is second only to Elvis Presley
(another favorite of mine), in platinum
albums earned by a male
vocalist in any type of music. George Strait has traveled a
long, hard road to
sucess, but he made it! He's what legends are
made of, and as a fan and a fellow Texan...
I'm proud to
say he came "Strait from Texas"! |
