<\/p>\n
George Strait performs at the Frank Erwin Center for “Fire Relief: The Concert for Central Texas” on Oct. 17, 2011 in Austin.<\/p>\n
Deborah Cannon\/American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Who would\u2019ve thought that a kid from Poteet\u00a0\u2014 who nearly quit right before his big break \u2014 would go on to be known as the \u201cKing of Country Music\u201d?\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ahead of George Strait\u2019s two nights at Austin\u2019s Moody Center<\/a> this weekend, here are five things you might not know about the 73-year-old \u201cAll My Ex\u2019s Live in Texas\u201d singer.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n American-Statesman photographer Jay Janner was still in college at Texas A&M when he took this photo of George Strait in College Station in 1987. Behind Strait are Ace in the Hole band members Mike Daily, left, Gene Elders, Benny McArthur and Rick McRae.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/American-Statesman<\/p>\n 1. He showed up in a B-movie about terrorism<\/p>\n Just one year into his music career, Strait made a cameo in the little-known 1982 action film \u201cThe Soldier.\u201d The movie follows a special unit dismantling a terrorist plot to detonate a plutonium bomb over a Saudi Arabian oil field.\u00a0<\/p>\n Strait and his bandmates appear in a shoehorned honky-tonk scene where they perform his first No. 1 hit, \u201cFool-Hearted Memory.\u201d In the clip, a confrontation leads to a barroom brawl before someone gets dunked into a mud-wrestling pit. Suffice it to say, the B-movie was quickly forgotten.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In 1992, Strait made his starring debut in the musical drama \u201cPure Country.\u201d The film follows a country musician disillusioned with fame who returns to his hometown to work on a ranch \u2014 something Strait actually did before his music career took off.<\/p>\n Critic Roger Ebert gave the movie a lukewarm review but wrote that Strait was \u201cgenuine and has a winning smile and holds his own in a screenplay that makes few demands.\u201d Nevertheless, the soundtrack became one of the best-selling albums of Strait\u2019s career, producing two No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart: \u201cI Cross My Heart\u201d and \u201cHeartland.\u201d<\/p>\n George Strait performs at the Frank Erwin Center’s 40th Anniversary Celebration on June 3, 2018 in Austin.<\/p>\n Suzanne Cordeiro\/American-Statesman<\/p>\n 2. He lost his \u2018Baby Blue\u2019 in 1986<\/p>\n Strait and his high school sweetheart, Norma Voss, welcomed their first child, Jenifer Lyn Strait, during his Army service in Hawaii in 1972. According to “The Strait Story<\/a>,” he also sang in a band that entertained troops.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n After his deployment ended in 1975, the family moved to San Marcos so Strait could attend Southwest Texas State University, now Texas State. He studied agriculture using the G.I. Bill, aiming for a ranching or rodeo career, and also joined the Ace in the Hole Band.<\/p>\n After graduating in 1979, Strait worked as a ranch manager at Hart Ranch in Martindale. He was still a ranch foreman when his first hit, \u201cUnwound,\u201d hit the radio in 1981, leading to a record deal with MCA and his debut album, \u201cStrait Country.\u201d That same year, the couple had their second child, George \u201cBubba\u201d Strait Jr.<\/p>\n By the mid-80s, Strait was a rising star with five albums when tragedy struck in San Marcos.<\/p>\n A George Strait LP is covered with lipstick kisses at the Broken Spoke on Oct. 22, 2014 in Austin.<\/p>\n Austin 360<\/p>\n On June 25, 1986, 13-year-old Jenifer was riding in a Ford Mustang with three friends when the driver took a turn too fast, causing the car to roll near the family\u2019s home just before midnight. Jenifer, who was not wearing a seatbelt and had her window open, was the only fatality. According to The Jenifer Strait Memorial Foundation<\/a>, Strait was home at the time and arrived on the scene shortly after being notified.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Strait buried himself in work and was back on the road just three weeks later. The private musician stopped giving interviews for many years and still rarely speaks about the loss. It is unclear when the family left San Marcos, but they were settled in San Antonio by the mid-90s.<\/p>\n \u201cI just kind of shut down,\u201d Strait told The New Yorker<\/a> in 2017. \u201cI just didn\u2019t feel like talking about it, so I quit doing interviews.\u201d<\/p>\n Fans have long speculated that his 1988 song \u201cBaby Blue\u201d honors\u00a0Jenifer, but Strait\u00a0has never confirmed it and the song\u2019s original writer, Aaron Barker, has not commented. Strait said in 2005 that the song \u201cYou\u2019ll Be There\u201d from \u201cSomewhere Down in Texas\u201d reminds him of\u00a0Jenifer.<\/p>\n \u201cThat song hit home for me for obvious reasons,\u201d Strait said in a 2007 USA Weekend \u201cOur American Icon Series\u201d<\/a> cover story. \u201cI\u2019m a religious person. I honestly believe we will see each other in heaven someday.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n George Strait plays his farewell tour at the Frank Erwin Center on Jan. 9, 2014 in Austin.<\/p>\n Austin 360<\/p>\n 3. He first performed with Willie Nelson in 2019<\/p>\n Despite being friends for years, Strait didn\u2019t perform onstage with Willie Nelson until 2019. The Texas icons joined forces for the \u201cWillie: Life & Songs of an American Outlaw\u201d concert in Nashville. They performed a duet of \u201cSing One with Willie\u201d \u2014 which they co-wrote for Strait\u2019s 2019 album \u201cHonky Tonk Time Machine\u201d \u2014 as well as \u201cGood Hearted Woman.\u201d<\/p>\n They reunited again for the opening of Austin\u2019s Moody Center in 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cYou know what, Willie\u2019s sung with everyone except me,\u201d Strait joked on the first night of the two-day opening celebration. \u201cI\u2019ve heard him with Merle, Waylon and Cash, but I\u2019m thinking, \u2018Damn, why not me?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That night, they played \u201cSing One With Willie\u201d before running through Townes Van Zandt\u2019s classic \u201cPancho & Lefty.\u201d With Strait returning to Moody Center this weekend and in May, some fans are hoping for a surprise appearance from the \u201cRed Headed Stranger,\u201d whose next tour kicks off on April 22.\u00a0<\/p>\n George Strait with Gruene Hall co-owners Pat Molak and Mary Jane Nalley in the late 1970s.<\/p>\n Austin 360<\/p>\n 4. He holds the record for No. 1 country hits<\/p>\n Over nearly five decades, Strait has amassed 60 No. 1 hits \u2014 more than any other country artist. That total includes 44 songs atop Billboard\u2019s Hot Country Songs chart and 16 on the Mediabase chart. Conway Twitty, a.k.a. \u201cThe High Priest of Country Music,\u201d ranks second with 55 hits.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Despite holding the record for most CMA Award nominations (more than 80), Strait is not a member of the Grand Ole Opry. While he has reportedly been invited, the required 10 annual performances in Nashville may conflict with his Texas-based lifestyle.<\/p>\n Strait was inducted into the\u00a0Texas Songwriters Hall of Fame<\/a> alongside Miranda Lambert in February and received the Kennedy Center Honors<\/a> in 2025 for his contributions to American culture.<\/p>\n George Strait performs during the 2021 iHeartCountry Festival at the Frank Erwin Center on Oct. 30, 2021 in Austin.<\/p>\n Suzanne Cordiero\/American-Statesman<\/p>\n 5. Plot twist \u2014 he’s related to Jeff Bezos<\/p>\n Strait is related to Amazon founder Jeff\u00a0Bezos through Bezos\u2019 mother, Jacklyn Gise. Strait and Gise are second cousins once removed,<\/a> making Strait’s son, \u201cBubba,\u201d Bezos’\u00a0third cousin.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The connection traces back to Strait\u2019s great-grandfather, John Joseph Strait. The lineage split between two sons: John Samuel \u2014 Strait\u2019s grandfather \u2014 and\u00a0Yancy Clarence. John Samuel was the father of John Byron, Strait\u2019s dad.<\/p>\n Yancy Clarence had a daughter, Mattie Strait, who married Lawrence Preston\u00a0Gise. They had Jacklyn Gise, who later gave birth to Bezos with Jeffrey Preston Jorgenson. Gise later married Miguel\u00a0Bezos, who adopted Jeff at age 4.<\/p>\n In a 2017 interview with his brother, Mark<\/a>, Bezos said he spent summers with his maternal grandparents on their cattle ranch in\u00a0Cotulla, Texas, from ages 4 to 16.<\/p>\n Neither Strait nor Bezos has publicly commented on their shared bloodline.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n George Strait plays Moody Center’s openeing celebration on April 29, 2022 in Austin.<\/p>\n Briana Sanchez\/American-Statesman<\/p>\n Are tickets still available for Strait at Moody Center?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n