Country music superstar George Strait has worked hard to craft himself an enduring and authentic reputation as Nashville's elder statesman. He's second only to Conway Twitty for #1 singles with 53 chart topping hits (Twitty had 55) and George is still going strong-his "Give It Away" off his forthcoming album of new material cruised right on up the charts. These days, George Strait is commonly referred to by fans and critics as "The King of Country" and he is adored as a living legend during his still-energetic and always crowd-pleasing live shows. Strait was born in Poteet, Texas in 1952 and worked weekends at his family cattle ranch while growing up. Strait got his start performing with a garage rock band in high school, but he found he preferred his father's country records like Hank Williams and Merle Haggard. He was enrolled at university but dropped out to elope to Mexico with his high school sweetheart. George Strait than joined the military, where he was assigned to an Army-sponsored band named Rambling Country. Strait played bass and was stationed in Hawaii. After discharge from the service, Strait returned to University and joined the Ace in the Hole Band, performing at local Texas honkytonks. All these early life experiences went on to inform George Strait's been-around, heartfelt songs. One of the local bar owners had connections with MCA records and hooked George up as a solo act. His first single, "Unwound" broke into the top 10 and he followed it up with "Down and Out," "Fool Hearted Memory" and "It Just Comes Natural." George Strait's consistent run of platinum albums has included classics like Strait Out of the Box, Honkytonkville and Pure Country.