George Strait – Biography, Wife, Age, Daughter, Son, Family, Height

Quick Facts

You can’t talk country music without mentioning George Strait. He climbed the fame ladder as not just a country music singer but also as a songwriter, actor, and music producer. His prominence in the industry won him a general nickname “King of Country”. While he is undeniably known as one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time, there are other lesser-known facts about him. Here is everything to know about the esteemed singer.

George Strait Biography, Age

Born George Harvey Strait on May 18, 1952, he attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos and graduated with a degree in agriculture after he was honorably discharged from the Army in 1975.

His interest in music started at a very young age, during his days in Pearsall High School and the nudge was something he couldn’t suppress. This got him in the rock and roll garage band named ‘The Beatles’. His talent drew the spotlight on him while he was still in high school. Shortly after his small success, Strait’s musical taste changed to country music with big singers like Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, Hank Thompson and Frank Sinatra influencing his style. His career saw major international success for the first time when his first single “Unwound” became a hit in 1981.

Around this time, he experienced an unusual breakthrough with seven of his albums sitting at number one on the country charts.

The 2000s came with more quantum leap which saw him bag ‘Artist of the Decade Award’ by the Academy of Country Music. He also won his first Grammy award for the album ‘Troubadour’ and was elected to the Country Music Hall. The title didn’t end there. Strait was named CMA Entertainer of the year in 1989, 1990 and 2013, and an ACM Entertainer of the year in 1990 and 2014. The crooner has also been nominated for more CMA and ACM awards. He has won the most in the two categories, more than any other.

But none of his achievement was more memorable than the fact that he broke records set by Conway Twitty for the most number-one hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart as his 44 number one singles did better than Twitty’s 40. The singer has gathered a total of 60 number-one hits, making him the musician with the highest number one hits in any genre of music.

He is also famous for designing a 360-degree configuration and introducing festival style tours. His ‘Strait Tours’ earned him $99 million in three years. It can be recalled that 104,793 graced his concert held at AT &T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in June 2014. The event broke the record as the largest indoor concert in North America. The star has sold more than 100 million records worldwide making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

Family – Parents, Siblings

Strait is an orphan as both his parents John Byron Strait Sr and Doris Jean Couser are dead. Doris died on January 30, 2010, at age 80, while John died on June 4, 2013, at age 91.

His father taught as a junior high school mathematics teacher and also owned a 2,000-acre (810ha) cattle ranch outside of Big Wells, Texas. He was based in Pearsall, in Frio Country with his family.

His parents’ marriage failed at some point and Strait was separated from his sister who had to join his mom. He, however, had his brother John Jr around as they were both taken care of by their father. Sadly, at the early age of 59, John Jr. passed on.

Personal Life – Wife, Daughter, Son

Strait has been with his high school sweetheart, Norma since December 1971 after their marriage. He joined the United States Army that same year. He started performing with U.S Army-sponsored band ‘Rambling Country’ while serving at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii as part of 25th Infantry Division.

The couple shares two children; Jennifer and George Strait Jr. They were born in October 1972 and in 1981 respectively. Jennifer died in 1986 in a car crash in San Marcos. She was only 13, making it the fourth close family Strait has had to bury. To pay tribute to the young soul that left them in a tragic event, the family opened Jennifer Lynn Strait Foundation, which gathers donation for children charities in the San Antonio area. Their son is healthy and hearty. He is a graduate of Texas A&M in College Station and works hard enough to make a living outside of what his father has already achieved.

Height

George Strait isn’t the tallest country singer neither is he the shortest. The singer stands at a height of 1.78 m which is quite good for a guy with his body physique.

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