Elvis. The Beatles. George Straight.That's the order for most certified record sales - Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum. King George has 38 Gold albums, 34 Platinum albums, and 13 multi-Platinum albums. 73 million records sold.
Not bad for a boy from San Antonio who started out in a High School garage band.
George Strait owned Country radio during the 1980s and 1990s, with 34 #1 songs. I must confess that I didn't pay a lot of attention to his music back then - his "neo-traditional" style didn't much appeal to me at the time. I gravitated to the new wave of Country Rock in the 1990s, and preferred music and lyrics with a bit more of an edge, a bit less sentimental.
But when you're looking for sentimental, he's your man. Not a bad thing to find there, when you go looking for sentimental.
That right there's why we won the Cold War. Yessir.
How 'Bout Them Cowgirls (Songwriters: Casey Beathard, Ed Hill)
I felt the rush of the Rio Grande into YellowstoneHow 'bout em, boys?
And I've seen first-hand Niagara Falls
And the lights of Vegas
I've criss-crossed down to Key Biscayne
And Chi-town via Bangor, Maine
Think I've seen it all
And all I can say is
How 'bout them cowgirls
Boys ain't they somthin'
Sure are some proud girls
And you can't tell 'em nothin'
And I tell you right now girls
May just be seven wonders of this big, old round world
But how 'bout them cowgirls
She's ridin' colts in Steamboat Springs
Bailing hay outside Abilene
She's tryin' hard
To fit in in some city
But her home is 'neath that big, blue sky
And the Northern Plains and those other wide open spaces
Now days there ain't as many
But how 'bout them cowgirls
Boys ain't they somthin'
Sure are some proud girls
And you can't tell 'em nothin'
And I tell you right now girls
May just be seven wonders of this big, old round world
But how 'bout them cowgirls
Boy, she don't need you and she don't need me
She can do just fine on her own two feet
But she wants a man who wants her to be herself
And she'll never change, don't know how to hide
Her stubborn will or her fightin' side
But you treat her right and she'll love you like no one else
Yeah, how 'bout them cowgirls
Boys ain't they somethin'
Sure are some proud girls
But you can't beat their lovin'
And I'll tell you right now girls
May just be seven wonders of this big, old round world
But how 'bout them cowgirls
How 'bout 'em boys?
Cowgirls Museum in Ft. Worth is Aces. Its right next to where they have the Ft Worth Stockshow in February - a yearly pilgrimage for us.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Strait had just hit the big time when I was starting college (version 1.0). He would still play the south/central Texas Dancehalls, though.
Two things about George:
He's short. Has the appearance of a tall, lanky guy on TV, but he's about my height.
He's one of the genuinely "normal", nice guys in the entertainment business. Real down to earth, even with all the fame and fortune.