George Harvey Strait

By Jesse Maxfield

History
Born on May 18, 1952. In Poteet Texas.
Father was a teacher who also owned and operated
a ranch that had been in the Strait family for nearly
100 years.
During his childhood, he would spend his weekdays
in town and his weekends on the ranch.

 Joined a rock & roll garage band as a teen.

Like others in the 60s he gravitated to rock
music and thought little of country.
Attended live performances of country
music, often held in Texan towns and soon
his interest turned to Country.
After his high school graduation in the late
'60s, he enrolled in college but soon dropped
out and married his high school sweetheart
Norma.
In 1971 enlisted in the Army.
Two years later he was stationed in Hawaii.
Began playing country music, initially with an
Army-sponsored country band called
Rambling Country
Left the Army in 1975
Returned to Texas with the intent of completing
his education. He enrolled in Southwest Texas
State University at San Marcos, where he
studied agriculture.
Formed country band, Ace in the Hole. Began
to perform at different honky tonks and bars
around south and central Texas

Honky-tonk music A type of country music adapted for the lively nightclubs and
dancehall that generally are up on the outskirts of Texas town. From 1940s on, it was
characterized by louder, more incisive instruments such as the electric guitar and the piano.

First show. Cheatham Street Warehouse 1975

 Throughout the '80s, he dominated the country singles charts, 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).

Strait rarely abandoned hardcore honky tonk and Western swing

Western Swing A hybridization between country music and big-band jazz that took
place in Texas as early as the 1930s. It brought the distinctive sounds of the saxaphone,
drums, and (later) trumpets into the more typical country sting band of fiddles, mandolins,
and guitars.

Amarillo by Morning"
One of his first albums Strait from the Heart (1982)
It is a Ballad The whole song is about the narrator making his way to Amarillo for a rodeo
and all the obstacles he comes across along his way.
He mentions breaking his leg, losing his wife and girlfriend, and not having a dime to his
name but despite all that going on, the only thing he has on his mind is getting to Amarillo.
One of Straits biggest successes but actually not the first person to record it. Terry Stafford
wrote and recorded this song initially in 1973.
Terry Stafford wrote and recorded the original version following an all-night drive from
one rodeo stop to another.
Straits recording is by far the most famous as it incorporates traditional country
instruments such as the steel guitar and fiddle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtVeDaZxAXo

Conclusions

Why George Strait ?

Why Amarillo by Morning?

Favorite Aspects?

References
Amarillo - http://faigley.dwrl.utexas.edu/countrymusic/music/greatest-hits-of-george-strait-1985/amarillo-by-morning/
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/readers-poll-the-10-best-george-strait-songs-20150518/amarillo-bymorning-20150518
George Strait - http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/George_Strait.aspx
http://www.cmt.com/artists/george-strait/biography/
https://thisistrovegeneralstore.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/holding-it-down-mr-george-strait/
http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/george-strait-3302.php