When it comes to any discussion of country music, you only need to know two words: George Strait.
With his buttery-smooth voice, his string of hits, and his amazing career that spans half a century, George Strait has held the title of King of Country Music for some time now, and nobody deserves it more. So, when he broke a song at a recent concert in (of all places) Philadelphia to talk about retiring, the fans reacted emotionally.
At a performance in Philadelphia last week, Strait, 72, performed his 2011 song "I'll Always Remember You," which contains a spoken bridge about his potential retirement. When a fan shared a video of the performance on social media, many fans expressed sadness at the subject matter.
"I have maybe five good years to sing my songs for you folks," Strait said in the song. "But hell, it's been around 50 now. And I still love it just as much as I ever did. When I walk through those curtains and I see your smiling faces, my feet don't touch the ground again until I walk back out and get on that bus. I don't know how many more years I can do this. I figure a few. I do want you to know, though, when I do walk off this stage and I'm settled in far away from all this, I'll still hear your screams and cheers in my mind, and I will always remember you."
Sadly, it doesn't look like he'll be coming to Alaska, but as long as there's an internet, we'll continue enjoying George Strait. He's a regular on the Spotify playlist when my wife and I are on long drives through the Great Land, and I'm happy to report that my kids are fans of his as well - I guess we managed to instill that much culture into them.
The King has had a storied career, and there can be no better country bona fides than George Strait's:
The Texas native grew up ranching on his family's 2,000-acre cattle farm. He was inspired by British Invasion rock groups in the 1960s and began playing in garage bands in high school, where he met his longtime love, Norma.
The country legend has achieved the most No. 1 albums in the history of country music, which includes 20 of his 60 No. 1 hits.
Strait has 13 multiplatinum albums and 38 gold albums. His 1992 "Pure Country" catalog went six times platinum, and his highest certified album is the 1995 classic "Strait Out of the Box."
That's one heck of a career, and that's for sure and for certain.
See Also: RIP Kris Kristofferson. Country Music Legend and Actor Gone at 88.
George Strait's retirement from touring will disappoint a lot of country fans, but he's sure earned it. Touring has to be a rough game, with the endless travel, set-up and tear-down, every day a new town, every evening a new venue, a new crowd. The King is 72 now, and he's coming to the point where he really should be thinking about taking it easy.
We'll miss him. But we have his extensive catalog of great music to remember him by - and maybe, just maybe, he'll still favor the fans with an appearance now and then. In the meantime, all I have to say is, "Take it easy, George. We'll miss you."
This is way more than appropriate.
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