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George Harvey Strait (born May 18, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer known as the "King of Country"〔 and one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time.〔 He is known for his neotraditionalist country style, cowboy look, and being one of the first and main country artists to bring country music back to its roots and away from the pop country era in the 1980s. Strait's success began when his first single "Unwound" was a hit in 1981. During the 1980s, seven of his albums reached number one on the country charts. In the 2000s, Strait was named Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music, was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and won his first Grammy award for the album ''Troubadour''. Strait was named CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1989, 1990 and 2013, and ACM Entertainer of the Year in 1990 and 2014. He has been nominated for more CMA and ACM awards and has more wins in both categories than any other artist. In 2009, he broke Conway Twitty's previous record for the most number-one hits on ''Billboards Hot Country Songs chart when his 44 number one singles surpassed Twitty's 40.〔 Counting all music charts, Strait has amassed a total of 60 number-one hits, breaking a record also previously set by Twitty, and giving him more number one songs than any other artist in any genre of music.〔 Strait is also known for his touring career when he designed a 360- degree configuration and introduced a festival style tours. For example, the Strait Tours earned $90 million in three years.〔Waddell, Ray. "Legend of Live Goes Country." ''Billboard'' 125.44(2013): 55-56. ''Music Index''. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.〕 George Strait was successful innovating country music and in numerous aspects of being a part of popular music. Strait has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.〔 His certifications from the RIAA include 13 multi-platinum, 33 platinum, and 38 gold albums. His best-selling album is ''Pure Country'' (1992), which sold 6 million (6× platinum). His highest certified album is ''Strait Out of the Box'' (1995), which sold 2 million copies (8× Platinum due to being a box set with four CDs). According to the RIAA, Strait is the 12th best-selling album recording artist in the United States overall. ==Early life== George Harvey Strait was born on May 18, 1952, in Poteet, in Atascosa County, south of San Antonio, Texas, to John Byron Strait, Sr. (January 11, 1922 - died June 4, 2013),〔 and Doris Couser. (June 26, 1930 - died January 30, 2010), He grew up in Pearsall, in Frio County, where his father was a junior high school mathematics teacher and the owner of a 2,000-acre (8 km²) cattle ranch outside of Big Wells, Texas. The family worked at the ranch on the weekends and in the summers. When George was in the fourth grade, his father and mother were divorced, and his mother moved away with his sister, Pency. George and his brother John, Jr., or "Buddy" (1950-2009), were raised by their father.〔 Strait began his musical interest while attending Pearsall High School, where he played in a rock and roll garage band. The Beatles were popular when Strait was in high school. "The Beatles were big", Strait confirmed. "I listened to them a lot and that whole bunch of groups that were popular then". His musical preference soon turned to country with singers Hank Thompson, Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, and Frank Sinatra influencing his style. Strait did not tune to the country music radio often as a youth, usually listening to the news and the farmer's report. His introduction to country music came mostly by way of live performances, which, according to Strait, could be heard in every town in Texas.〔 He eloped with his high school sweetheart, Norma. The couple initially married in Mexico on December 4, 1971. That same year, he enlisted in the United States Army. While stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii as a part of the 25th Infantry Division, Strait began performing with a U.S. Army-sponsored band, "Rambling Country", which played off-base under the name "Santee".〔 On October 6, 1972, while still in Hawaii, George and Norma had their first child, Jenifer. After Strait was honorably discharged from the Army in 1975, he enrolled at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos and graduated with a degree in agriculture. During his college years, he joined the country band Stoney Ridge, answering a flyer the band posted around campus looking for a new vocalist. Strait renamed the group the Ace in the Hole Band and quickly became the lead; they began to perform at different honky tonks and bars around south and central Texas, traveling as far east as Huntsville and Houston.〔 They gained a regional following and opened for national acts such as The Texas Playboys. Soon, his band was given the opportunity to record several Strait-penned singles including "That Don't Change The Way I Feel About You," and "I Can't Go On Dying Like This" for the Houston-based D label. However, the songs never achieved wide recognition, and Strait continued to manage his family cattle ranch during the day in order to make some extra cash.〔〔 While he continued to play with his band, without any real connections to the music industry, Strait became friends with Erv Woolsey, who operated one of the bars in which the Ace in the Hole band played, and who had previously worked for the major label MCA Records. Woolsey convinced some of his Music Row (Nashville, TN) connections to come to Texas and to listen to Strait and his band play. Impressed with the performance, but concerned that they couldn't market the Western Swing sound that the band featured, they left without a deal. After several unsuccessful trips to Nashville in search of a record deal in which Strait was turned down by every label in town, he considered giving up music altogether. He was offered a job designing cattle pens and decided to take it. He gave the band notice that he was leaving, but after a discussion with his wife, she convinced him to give music one more year. Not long afterward, MCA signed Strait to a recording contract in February 1981. The initial deal was for one song. If the single did well, the label would then consider doing an album. 〔 The Ace in the Hole band remained with Strait, performing as the backup and touring band for the now solo act.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George Strait」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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