George Strait

He married his high school sweetheart Norma in 1971. The couple had two children, a daughter and a son. He became a grandfather in 2012.

His daughter Jenifer died in an accident at the age of 13. Strait and his wife set up The Jenifer Lynn Strait Foundation in her memory. The foundation donates money to children’s charities.

George Strait was born in Texas to John Strait, a school teacher and his wife Doris Couser. He had two siblings. His father owned a two-thousand acre cattle ranch where the family worked at on the weekends.

His parents divorced when he was young. His mother moved away with his sister, leaving behind George and his brother to be raised by their father.

He attended Pearsall High school where he played in a rock and roll garage band. His interest soon shifted to country music which was often performed live in Texas.

He enlisted in the US Army in 1971. After being honorably discharged from the army, he attended Southwest Texas State University from where he received a degree in agriculture.

While serving in the army, stationed at Hawaii, he began performing with an army sponsored band “Rambling Country” which also performed off-base under the name of “Santee.”

Later on, while pursuing his college degree, he joined the country band “Stoney Ridge” as a vocalist. He quickly became the band leader and renamed the band as “Ace in the Hole.”

His band performed all around south and central Texas and gained local followers. Soon Strait got the opportunity to record many of the songs he had written, but these songs could not achieve wide recognition.

After years of struggle, Strait finally signed a solo contract with MCA Records in 1981 with the help of his friend Erv Woolsey. In the same year he released his first single “Unwound” which climbed on to become the top ten Hot Country Songs. The song was included in his debut album “Strait Country.”

In the following decade, he recorded 17 subsequent No.1’s including ‘Strait from the Heart’ (1982), ‘Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind’ (1984), ‘Something Special’ (1985), ‘Ocean Front Property’ (1987), and ‘Beyond the Blue Neon’ (1989).

His debut album ‘Strait Country’ (1981) featuring the hit single ‘Unwound’ which catapulted him to overnight fame was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

His 1987 Album ‘Ocean Front Property’ is a multi-platinum album. It was his first album to debut at No.1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart.

The album ‘Pure Country’, the soundtrack of the 1992 movie ‘Pure Country’ is Strait’s biggest commercial success till date, having sold over six million copies. It includes songs like "I Cross My Heart" and "Heartland."

‘Strait Out of the Box’ (1995) is his highest certified multi-platinum album which sold more than eight million copies. It is a box-set that includes many of his hit singles dating from 1976 to 1995.

His 2008 album ‘Troubadour’ is considered to be one of his best works as he earned the Grammy Award for Best Country Album for it. It included songs like ‘It was me’, ‘Rivers of Love’ and ‘I Saw God today.’