George Strait is a living country music legend.
Ever since he released his debut album Strait Country (phenomenal name for his first project) in 1981, he’s been considered one of the genre’s greatest artists. He absolutely owned the 1980s and 1990s with hits that just kept coming, like “Amarillo By Morning” and “All My Ex’s Live In Texas.”
But before he became a certified country music superstar, Strait was just a man serving his country in the United States Army. The singer-songwriter served from 1971 to 1975, and was even able to achieve the rank of Corporal during his service.
As he explained in a statement provided to UMG Nashville, he had somewhat of a typical enlisting and serving story:
“Well, I joined the Army. I spent three years in the service. I had basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, then went up for Advanced Individual Training (AIT) in Fort Ben Harrison, Indiana. And then my final duty station was at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. I spent two and a half years in Hawaii, two years in the Army, and then I stayed there six months after I got out.”
Getting stationed in Hawaii… I’m sure that wasn’t all that bad.
Strait continued on in the interview talking about how he would play guitar and sing country music to pass the time while he was the service, and that hobby of his quickly turned into a promising profession. One could say that he got his official start in country music thanks to an Army general he was serving under that saw his potential during Strait’s final year of service:
“And so… The last year I was in the Army is when I started singing country music and the general, the post command in general started bands out of military personnel and I got the job as the singer in the country band. And so that’s what I did. I sang country music for the Army.”
So it sounds like we all have an Army general to thank for helping steer George Strait into his country music career?
Strait started out singing country music for the Army, and now he sings country music to an entire country – and world – that considers themselves fans of his. And it was all thanks to the very first gig that he got while he was serving our great country.
Strait never forgets the time he spent in the service either, and does his best to use his platform to give back to military veterans. He works with many charities, including the Military Warriors Support Foundation, and is notorious for honoring and helping those who have served during his concerts.
And hey, he’s a veteran himself. So with Veteran’s Day coming up, let’s all wish a Happy Veteran’s Day to George Strait.
Long story short, Strait has a deep appreciation for those who serve, and has always been patriotic. His 1987 hit “Heartland” doesn’t exude in-your-face patriotism, but I do think it encapsulates all of the great things about being American.
There’s never a bad time to fire it up:
