Remarkable.

It’s the best word to describe the continuing development of George Strait, who’s written a personal history so unique he’s creating new, record-breaking plateaus that have simply never been reached before.

He already owns the all-time record for the most No. 1 singles in any genre. He has more career nominations than any other artist in both the Nashville-based Country Music Association awards and the California-bred Academy of Country Music honors. He has more gold and platinum albums than any other country artist.

His last album, It Just Comes Natural, was so solid that it brought him the CMA honor for Album of the Year, an award he’s won four different times and in three different decades. And the “King of Country Music” joined the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006, making him the only performer who’s earned a plaque in the hallowed halls while still consistently racking up hits. With Troubadour, Strait’s 37^th album, he continues to raise the standard. From a numerical view, the album’s first single, “I Saw God Today,” already set a personal mark when it debuted at No. 19 on the country radio charts—higher than any other song he’s released in his career.

From a creative vantage point, the album as a whole is, again, remarkable. Strait explores new musical turf with the calypso R&B in “River Of Love”; opens up to meaningful—and rare—guest appearances by Patty Loveless, Vince Gill and songwriter pal Dean Dillon; and delivers the 12-song set with a voice that continues an extremely graceful evolution.

“He’s always good,” co-producer Tony Brown says, “but he sang really good on this album.” “His vocal tone has progressed very, very nicely in the last five or six years,” observes Dillon, who should know: One of Strait’s golfing and fishing compadres, he’s written 13 of Strait’s hits, dating back to the first, 1981’s “Unwound.” “He’s got a real mellow thing goin’ with his voice right now.”

Troubadour benefits from Strait’s uncanny ability to balance organization and spontaneity. He and Brown, who has overseen Strait projects since the Pure Country soundtrack in 1992, spend much of the year amassing potential songs, and as one of the genre’s pre-eminent artists, Strait has the opportunity to select from the very best.

Still, the albums aren’t mapped out precisely. He and Brown literally determine which titles they intend to work on the morning of a given session, following the day’s creative muse.

That was even easier on Troubadour as Strait recorded, for the second time, at Jimmy Buffett’s Shrimpboat Sound in Key West. A beat-up shack on the waterfront that used to be a shrimp storage cooler where boats would deposit the day’s catch. The studio is so small that they pulled a Ryder truck up to the back door to provide an isolation booth for the electric guitarist’s amplifier.

Strait first recorded there when he sang on Buffett’s award-nominated event “Hey, Good Lookin’,” and he fell in love with the place. Removed from the day-to-day concerns in Nashville—the home for most of the session players, who Strait affectionately refers to as “the Critters”—there’s a free quality about the studio and its setting that appeals to the singer.

“We were all havin’ fun, which I think shows in the tracks,” Brown says of the sessions. “In the beginning, we went to Shrimpboat on a whim. This time we went back because the last album turned out so awesome. I have a funny feelin’ we’ll be goin’ back again.”

As always, Troubadour is a mix of the playful and the profound. The breezy energies get tapped in the restless, workin’-man tribute “Brothers Of The Highway”; the romantic vacation piece “When You’re In Love”; the slightly funky “River Of Love”; and the snappy honky-tonker “Make Her Fall In Love With Me Song.”

Strait also unleashes his deeper nature in the career-reflective title track, featuring backing vocals by label-mate Vince Gill; “House With No Doors,” a clever-but-wise reminder to the control freak in everyone; a pair of spiritually themed tracks, the eye-opening “I Saw God Today” and the subdued “Give Me More Time”; and “If Heartaches Were Horses,” a cinematic conclusion to the album.

“West Texas Town” has a surprising twist by making the song a duet with Dillon. It also provides a nod to a songwriter who’s had a steady role in Strait’s career, turning out such familiar titles as “Ocean Front Property,” “I’ve Come To Expect It From You,” “The Chair” and “She Let Herself Go.”

“House Of Cash,” featuring Loveless’ powerful harmonic blend, puts a mountain-bred harmonic stamp on the passing of Johnny Cash and June Carter, using the tragic destruction of their Middle Tennessee home in a 2007 blaze and the name of Cash’s former recording studio to pay tribute to the Man In Black’s historic impact.

That Strait continues to fold subtle new wrinkles into an already-unparalleled career as a hit-maker is a testament to his still-burning passion for his art.

Born and raised in Texas, he grew up on a ranch and earned an agricultural degree at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. He fronted a band during a tenure with the Army, then found his voice in 1975 when he teamed up with a honky-tonk ensemble, the germination of what has become his Ace In The Hole touring band.

Even after he was heralded as a flag-bearing figure for traditional country music, Strait eschewed traditional career paths: He refused to move to Nashville, and—instead of sacrificing big chunks of his personal life to pursue his job—he works his touring and recording schedule around his time at home with Norma, to whom he’s been married since 1971, and around his hobbies, including hunting and rodeos. In addition, Strait hosts his own team-roping competition every spring.

That smart attention to priorities has kept him fresh and focused on the creative process and given him an almost Elvis-like mystique.

But where Presley remained an enigma through much of his career, Strait rather slyly reveals himself in small bites through his music. He’s rarely recorded anything with a specifically autobiographical storyline, yet he maintains a strict integrity about his songs; choosing only material that fits his classic vocal style and his personal beliefs. He’s been known to turn down obvious hits because he simply couldn’t agree with one line or a verse in the song.

“He’s real,” Loveless says, “and anything that’s real, it stays around. His music: It just comes out there effortlessly. It’s no hanging from the rafters, no tricks; he just comes out there and sings to people. Men appreciate him as the real deal, and women are drawn to his voice and the way he carries himself on stage. He’s such a gentleman, and he does have a great smile.”

And, of course, a career that’s consistently weathered musical trends to arrive at a place where he no longer worries about the rules of the music industry. He sets his own.

With an enviable consistency, Strait continues to sell out arenas and to stretch himself creatively with an album, Troubadour, which stands among the best in a career already filled with highlights. And he does so while all the while holding a permanent place on the country radio dial.

George Strait’s ability to balance his personal life with his business and to creatively challenge himself without error is, in a word, remarkable.

For the past two and a half decades there has been one constant in country music: the presence of George Strait hit records.

From his first Number One song “Fool Hearted Memory” in early 1982 through his 51st “I Hate Everything” and right up to today’s “You’ll Be There,” the words “George Strait” and “country hit” have been synonymous. In fact, he has scored more Number One songs than any other single artist in history and has sold over 62 million records in the meantime amassing 28 platinum or multi-platinum discs –more than any other country artist.

“You’ll Be There” is the fastest-rising song of the Texan’s long and storied career and the new album from which it comes -- Somewhere Down in Texas (MCA/Universal Music Group on June 28, 2005) – is another finely crafted masterwork from country music’s indisputable King.

In addition, Strait has won over 40 major industry awards and along with his unprecedented 51 Number One hit singles, he leads the all-time Country Music Association (CMA) award nominations with 73 and can boast 19 Number One Country Albums (followed by Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson with 15 each). In 2003, he was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and in 2004, received the National Medal of the Arts from President George W. Bush.

For George Strait, it’s about more than just the awards and the glory though. For him, it’s all about the music and the listeners. When he talks about his life and career, what comes shining through is his honesty, his humility and genuineness. He cares most about God, his family, his fans, and his music. “I’ve been very fortunate to have had such a long career in country music,” says the characteristically low-key Strait. “I never really set out to have 51 Number Ones but I’m very proud of that fact.  I’m going to continue, just as I always have, to try and make the best records I can and do the best shows I can.”

On Somewhere Down in Texas, Strait continues to demonstrate that there’s no one in country music with a better set of ears for picking a great country song. The new disc includes tracks from song crafter Dean Dillon, a Merle Haggard classic, a lovely duet with Lee Ann Womack and, of course, some Texas themed tunes round out the disc. “Texans love their state and there are a lot of singers from Texas. So how could there ever be too many Texas songs on an album by a guy from Texas?” laughs Strait. “But you know, you don’t want to do a song just because it’s got Texas in it. Sometimes that can get a little hokey. It was kind of coincidental that there were two songs about Texas on this CD. They came to me at the same time when we were looking for songs for this record and both, I felt, were too good to pass up so they’re both on here.”

George Strait kicks off Somewhere Down in Texas with signature style in the lively beer-drenched number, “If the World was a Honky Tonk.” In it, Strait sings, “Life would be a three chord song/And the king would be George Jones/If the whole world was a honky tonk.” 

On the second track and the CDs namesake, some might get the idea that the Strait has been making plans to leave the road and head back to the ranch. He’s quick to clear that idea right up however, “No, absolutely not. I’m having way too much fun! It’s not like I’m retiring from the music business or anything, but it felt good for me and I really liked the song.”

Another remarkable track is "Seashores of Old Mexico," a song written by one of Strait’s idols, Merle Haggard. “The Hag has always been one of my heroes,” Strait says. “He’s such a talented individual and we’re lucky to be able to experience his talents first hand and not have to read about them like some people will years from now.  I had been doing ‘Seashores’ off and on for years in my live show and decided to include it on my album.”

Strait has done very few duets and "Good News Bad News" is his first ever with a female artist. “I have wanted to do a duet with Lee Ann for a while,” says Strait, “but I never felt like I had found a good enough song.  The fact that it’s a great song and she wrote it with Dean [Dillon] made the choice seem obvious.” 

No one can deliver a love song better than George Strait and he notes that in the case of “Oh What a Perfect Day,” this particular love song takes a different twist. “It’s one of those songs that goes, ‘Yeah, I like it, I’m sittin’ on the porch drinking coffee and listening to the rain fall on the roof, and I was gonna play golf but it’s OK now, cause I’m sitting here with you.’”

At the other end of the emotional spectrum lies an unusual telling of a romantic breakup in the Clint Daniels/Tony Martin song “Ready for the End of the World.” Strait says of the song, “It’s a depressing song! But it’s a great country song. I love the lines, ‘I know the end is near, I’ve seen the warning signs, been preparin’ myself, layin’ in supplies. I Bought a case of Jack, a box set of Merle,’ I mean I’m getting ready for the end of the world here now.”

As for George Strait’s future, it seems there’s no end in sight. “I’ve never been one to set a lot of goals for myself, but I’ve always been really motivated to improve on what I’ve done. I look forward to the future and what it will bring.  I’m sure it will be challenging and fun.”

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