George Strait: Childhood Influences

"He lived and he loved the songs that he wrote and the songs that he sang. He’s a man of great courage. He’s kind. He’s gentle and he has God-given talents. He chose a career he was hoping he could make a difference in. That career made a difference in

Strait says that his father, John, help him keep his faith through the rough times and that he would not be the man he is today without him (West). Having a famous uncle can be tricky because either no one believes it is true or they ask if he gives special treatment. The truth is I have never met him before, he has let the feud with part of his family get in the way of meeting the rest of them, maybe it will happen one day. It is still pretty cool to be related to a famous person, my mother says that George and I share the talent of music. He is one of the biggest country stars in America. Known as the “King of Country”, George has sold more than 65 million albums with nearly 50 number 1 hits and has performed in front of 104,000 plus people

He’s released at least one single a year for every year since the beginning of his career.  The first single released in 1981, called “Unwound”, is one of the top ten hot country (Taste of Country ).  Strait out of the box (1995) is his highest certified multi-platinum album, which has sold more than 5 Million copies.  Some noteworthy number one hits include Give it away, I saw God Today, Heartland, I Cross My Heart, I Hate Everything, Right or Wrong, The Chair, I am Blue, Baby Blue, Ace in the Hole, Love Without End, Amen, Carried Away, and Run. (Spong).  Therefore in his life George had many number one hits and albums, no wonder he’s considered to be

Brantley Gilbert is a popular country music star. Mr. Gilbert has written/recorded seventy-one songs, and a total of 3 albums and received several awards. He is known for speaking his mind and being able to defend his family and friends. Brantley Gilbert is a successful artist, with a complicated past.

I am going to share with you the story of how Luke Bryan saved country music in his hometown. He could sing so loud he could knock a building over. When he was a baby he would scream so loud he knocked down the walls of his own house! He discovered he could sing at a young age, so he decided that was what he wanted to do for his future. He thought about opera because he could sing so loud, but he went with the path country music instead.

Hank Williams was the most significant figure to emerge in country music during the immediate post World War II period.(Starr Pg. 237) Country music is a genre that came from the United states in the 1920s from the southeastern area. Most of it’s origin comes from folk music and many of the instruments that were used to play country music back in the day were a banjo, acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin, or an auto harp. Country music also happened to be one of the first genres of modern American popular music. Hank Williams also known as Hiram King Willams was born in Mount Olive, Alabama on September 17, 1923. When Hank was around eight years old he was given his first guitar and started to take music lessons from blues singer Rugus Payne also known as Tee Tot. After learning how to write his own songs and play the guitar

George Harvey Strait was born in Poteet, Texas on May 18th, 1952. He was raised on a family-owned farm in nearby Pearsall, Texas, where he studied agriculture at Southwest Texas State University. George married his high school sweetheart, Norma, before joining the army. Outside of his music career, George had many other interests, including skiing, calf roping, and golf. He has one son named George Jr., who is pursuing a career as a professional rodeo competitor. His daughter, Jennifer, died in a car accident in 1986. While stationed in Hawaii, he began singing in the Army sponsored band called Rambling Country. After returning to Texas, he put together his own band, Ace in the Hole. Things really took off for the band in about 1981 when George

Country music has had many icons with extremely successful careers, but one of the standouts is signer songwriter Kenny Rogers. He’s known for his raspy vocals and story telling ability through music. Rogers has enjoyed enormous success during his storied career over the last five and a half decades with success in a variety of geners, numerous hits, and countless awards.

George Harvey Strait was born and bred in the Texas cowboy tradition. He came into the world on May 18, 1952 in Poteet, Texas (“Strait Facts”) and was raised in nearby Pearsall, TX on his family's working cattle ranch, a legacy in the family for over 100 years. His childhood was spent working with his father and brother on their farm, and he carried on the ranching tradition by studying agriculture at Texas State University (Dickinson). In 1971, he married his wife, Norma, and shortly after enlisted in the United States Army.

In the summer of 1985, Garth dropped his job and apartment and moved to Nashville. He had big dreams moving to Nashville and even thought about seeing his name painted on his hometown’s water tower. Garth soon came in contact with reality after a meeting with Merlin Littlefield, a director of ASCAP who told Garth he would starve as a songwriter. Garth was hurt by the man’s message and returned home to Oklahoma within twenty-four hours. When he was at home he spent his time forming a new band that they called Santa Fe, the band would play all types of music. The band consisted of people Garth knew and had met in the past. They played at a new club in downtown Stillwater to start off and show people what they had to offer. In between sets, other band members may get a drink or go outside to smoke, but Garth would often go out into the crowd and make friends. Santa Fe became more popular and even booked more dates to play. Brooks was ready to take on Nashville once again, this time with his

Sam Philips hooked Elvis’s first live performance with a guest artist of Moore’s country-western band that was on tour. This was his start in becoming the national phenomenon. Not too much later, there was a music Jamboree held in Memphis that was staged at an outdoor city park. There were many country singers who showed up to the event. Elvis even performed at this occasion, yet still unidentified for which genre he would be placed under.

Like most country singers, he was raised on a small little farm that his family owned by the town Pearsall, Texas. Way before his music career, George attended college at Southwest Texas State University where he studied Agriculture. He made the decision to join the U.S. Army, but before doing so he went out on a limb and got eloped with his wife Norma, who he is still married to today. Strait got stationed in Hawaii, which most people consider the start of his music career, because while over there he joined a band named Rambling Country. This band was just a small army sponsored band, so when George got back to Texas he decided to put together his own band and call it Ace in the Hole. His band could never get a contract to sign, so Strait decided to go solo. In 1981, he decided to sign with MCA Records. This same year is when his first album named Strait Country was released. His music career shot off and he produced many hit albums earning him the Country Music Entertainer of the Year in 1989 and in 1990. He also decided to do a little dabbling in the motion picture business when he decided to act in the movie Pure Country. Strait has gone on to release many number one albums and songs leading him to receive the award Artist of

Country Music There was nothing but the darkness of the night. There were no noise to be heard. Suddenly a loud strumming of music came from one direction. Gathering around, people were amazed by what beautiful music they were hearing. This was the start of something new and original; it was called country music.

This battle has been a long one for Merle Haggard. He was actually diagnosed with pneumonia last year and spent 11 days at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Riverside. Merle had been doing better and scheduled several concert dates with Willie Nelson, but later had to cancel them. Just last week, Merle started to cancel the rest of the dates that he was going to attempt to do. Fans knew that he wasn't doing well, but they had not shared the details of how bad things were for him. When buying tickets, a lot of people realized this could be their last chance to see Merle Haggard in concert.

Ace in the Hole made a few records for the independent Dallas-based label D in the late '70s, but they never went anywhere. Toward the end of the decade, Strait attempted to carve out a niche in Nashville, but he failed since he lacked any strong connections. In 1979, he became friends with Erv Woolsey, a Texas club owner who had formerly worked for MCA Records. Woolsey had several MCA executives come down to Texas to hear Strait. His performance convinced the company to sign him in 1980. "Unwound," Strait's first single, was released in the spring of 1981 and climbed into the Top Ten. The follow-up, "Down and Out," stalled at 16, but "If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger (There's One Coming Home)" reached number three in early 1982. The