George Strait with Martina McBride

George Strait’s no-nonsense brand of old-fashioned Texas country, made up of honky tonk over a foundation of Western swing, resists hype and Nashville trends; but Strait’s lack of flash hasn’t kept him from becoming one of the great country music singers of all time. Part of that’s due to his long-running consistency—he’s had more number-one hits than any other country singer, stretching from 1982’s “Fool Hearted Memory” to “River of Love” in 2008, and he’s outlasted the New Traditionalist movement he helped get started in the early 1980s, Garth Brooks’ insurgency in the early 1990s, the Shania Twain-fueled pop crossover crisis of the late ’90s, and the brief revolution fomented by Big & Rich in the ’00s. He could probably run for president.
But Strait’s contributions to the Nashville canon exceed his longevity and record sales, as impressive as those are. At his best, he’s about as good as any other country singer ever, a deadpan dramatist (“You Look So Good in Love,” “I Can Still Make Cheyenne”), a sly wit (“All My Ex’s Live in Texas”), or a carefree cowboy (“Amarillo by Morning”). He’s quietly defied Nashville’s taste for novelty with a serious commitment to classic country. (Matthew Everett)