05/29/2009 - George Strait

About George Strait
 

George Harvey Strait (born May 18, 1952) is a Grammy Award-winning American country music singer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional country western music. Strait won CMA Entertainer of the year in 1989 and 1990 and ACM Entertainer of the year in 1990. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Strait has been nominated for more CMA and ACM awards and has more wins in both category's than any other artist. As of 2009, he holds the record for the most Number One hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts with 44 number one singles on that chart. Counting all other music charts, Strait has amassed a total of 57 number one hits overall, breaking a record previously set by Conway Twitty.

Strait's 38 hit albums (12 multi platinum, 22 platinum and four gold) rank him only behind Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The RIAA has certified his albums at 68× platinum, denoting shipments of 58.5 million in the United States. His best-selling album there is Pure Country (1992), which sold 6 million (6× Multi-platinum). His highest certified album is Strait Out of the Box (1995), which sold 2 million copies (8× Multi-Platinum due to being a box set with four CDs). According to the RIAA, Strait is the tenth best-selling recording artist in the United