Some more hardware for the King.
There’s no doubt that George Strait is one of the greatest country singers to ever impact the genre. With the 60 #1 hits, which is the most by any artist in history, 27 #1 albums and over 100 million records sold worldwide, it’s truly hard to imagine there ever being another artist quite like the King.
Of course, he’s scored hits with some of the most iconic songs to ever impact country music, ranging from the likes of “Amarillo By Morning” and “All My Exes Live In Texas” to “Troubadour” and “The Chair.” Though there’s absolutely no denying his status as one of the most influential aritsts, singers and storytellers in the genre, one thing that has always surrounded conversations around Strait has been his songwriting (or lack thereof).
Though he may not have written a majority of his biggest hits, there’s absolutely no denying he’s given a voice and iconic renditions to a plethora of some of the most impactful songs and songwriters in the genre’s history. And because of this, he’s being honored by the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame with a special award.
Announced this morning, Strait is set to receive the incredibly rare “career maker” award, recognizing his long-history of supporting and recording members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame over the decades. Of course, this award is dedicated to artists who have not been inducted into the hall but have simultaneously recorded songs that aided other members in joining.
Strait will become just the second artist in history to receive the award, joining only Reba McEntire, who received it back in 2018.
Diving into the numbers that aided in Strait’s award, he has recorded a staggering 264 songs either written or co-written by 72 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame members. Even more incredibly, 44 of these songwriters were not in the HOF upon the “I Cross My Heart” singer’s first recording of one of their songs. In other words, Strait played a tangible role in many songwriters’ placement in the Nashville Hall of Fame.
In a statement to Billboard, Strait would call receiving the career maker award an honor, reflecting on how lucky he’s been to work with so many Hall of Fame songwriters throughout his illustrious career.
“I’m so honored to be receiving the career maker award from the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. I look forward to being there with some of the most talented hall of fame songwriters I’ve been so lucky to be associated with throughout my career. You folks definitely make the world a better place through your amazing abilities as songwriters and artists. See you there.”
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer, Gretchen Peters, who co-wrote Strait’s “The Chill of an Early Fall,” would comment on the impact he had on her early in her career, remarking that his cutting of her song felt like a “stamp of approval” from the genre itself.
“Having George Strait record a song of mine, especially so early in my career, felt like nothing less than a stamp of approval from Country music itself. It said, ‘You belong here; you’ve earned your bona fides.’ George is so deeply rooted in the traditions of country music, so beloved and respected and unassailable in his song choices. Every song he touches becomes, de facto, a George Strait song. To a young songwriter, that meant the world.”
Finally, Rich Hallworth, chair of the organization’s board of directors, would add that the organization wanted to honor Strait due to his impact on the careers of over 40 Hall of Fame songwriters.
“Throughout his phenomenal career as an artist, George Strait has played an integral role in helping more than 40 songwriters achieve induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, which is why we want to express our gratitude to him on Nashville Songwriting’s Most Legendary Night.”
Strait is set to receive the award during the induction ceremony on October 26th at Nashville’s Music City Center. He will receive the award alongside the induction of the likes of Taylor Swift, who is set to become the youngest member of the Nashville Hall of Fame, Bruce Channel, Lyle Lovett, Shawn Camp and Lee Thomas Miller.
