The King of Country is back in Music City.
George Strait will be honored on Oct. 26 at the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame with the Career Maker Award, recognizing more than four decades of turning songs written by others into country music classics. He is the second recipient of the Career Maker Award, following Reba McEntire in 2018.
Across his 40-plus-year career, the Texas troubadour has recorded 264 songs written or co-written by 72 members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. With regards to those accomplished lyricists, 44 of those songwriters had not yet been inducted when Strait first recorded their work.
"I don't think my instinct for picking a good country song has changed much, if any," the 74-year-old legend told The Tennessean.
"I'm still a big melody guy. I've said that quite a few times over the years. Great melody, great lyric, great song."
He acknowledged that the country radio landscape has changed, leaving him uncertain whether his instincts would still translate into chart success if he released a new song today.
"We'll never know if I could still pick a hit or not since radio won’t play anything new from me anymore," he said. "That's not a comment against country radio. I get it. They've been very good to me over the years and I really appreciate that. I also thank them for still playing my old stuff. It's just to say that those days are over."
It's a striking assessment from one of the most successful recording artists in country music history. Strait's career includes 44 No. 1 singles on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and 86 Top 10 hits. He released his latest album, "Cowboys And Dreams," in 2024.
Finding his own sound
Born in Poteet, Texas, in 1952, Strait got his start playing Texas dance halls before signing with MCA Records in 1981.
While some country music was leaning into pop, Strait stuck with honky-tonk, western swing and traditional storytelling. And it worked.
When asked if there was a moment in the studio when he knew he was onto something special, he pointed to producer Jimmy Bowen.
"Jimmy allowed me to start co-producing my own stuff," Strait said. "I became more focused and more educated in what it took to make records like I wanted to make."
Strait won CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1989, 1990 and 2013. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006, won his first Grammy in 2009 for "Troubadour" and received the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.
In 2025, he added a Kennedy Center Honor to that list.
The Cowboy Rides Away
Strait retired from traditional touring in 2014, closing his Cowboy Rides Away Tour with a concert at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, attended by 104,793 fans.
But the cowboy hasn't stopped riding. He continues to play select shows, including an April 25, 2026, stadium concert in Lubbock, Texas, with Miranda Lambert and Hudson Westbrook.
On June 27, 2026, he joined longtime friend Alan Jackson at Nissan Stadium in Nashville for Jackson's final concert. The two performed "Designated Drinker" and "Murder on Music Row."
Even after more than four decades of performing for sold-out crowds, Strait still marvels at the fans who show up to hear him sing.
"My fans are the best in the world and I've always said that," Strait said. "Just seeing them year after year still coming to my shows is amazing to me. I just hope that they can see what that means to me while I'm on that stage singing them. Hearing them sing with me."
The Oct. 26 ceremony will also induct Lyle Lovett, Bruce Channel, Shawn Camp, Lee Thomas Miller and Taylor Swift into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
As Strait prepares to accept another honor, he said he is thinking about what he hopes his music will mean to fans after he's gone.
"Music has a life of its own and I hope mine has a long one after I’m gone."
Bryan West is a music reporter at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: George Strait reflects on country music legacy | Exclusive
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