History Trivia / GeorgeStrait

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: He had both "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" and "Love Done Gone" on hold, but they ended up being recorded instead by Music/KennyChesney and Music/BillyCurrington, respectively.

* [[BreakawayPopHit Breakaway Country Hit]]: Both "Heartland" and "I Cross My Heart" off the ''Film/PureCountry'' soundtrack went to number 1. The movie? Not so much.

* ProductionPosse: He has had nearly the same batch of session musicians (including bassist Glenn Worf, drummer Eddie Bayers, steel guitarist Paul Franklin, guitarists Steve Gibson and Brent Mason, and fiddler Stuart Duncan) and the same producer (Tony Brown) on every album between ''Pure Country'' in 1992 and ''Love Is Everything'' in 2013. In addition, nearly every album dating back to his first has had at least one song written by Dean Dillon.

* FollowTheLeader[=/=]FountainOfExpies: In the 1990s, there was an insurgence of "hat acts" who, like Strait, were just good ol' clean-cut young men (and even a couple women!) in cowboy hats. Over time, "hat act" became a derogatory term due to so many of them flooding the market and becoming indistinguishable.

** He's also had three #1 hits that have held on for five weeks: the first is the iconic "Love Without End, Amen", and the other two are "I've Come to Expect It from You" and "One Night at a Time", which are nowhere near as iconic as "I Cross My Heart", "Heartland", "Check Yes or No", "Write This Down", "Give It Away" etc.

* GenreAdultery: By and large, averted; rarely has George recorded in the pop-country vein. One early exception was his 1982 ballad, "Marina Del Rey," which he pulled off very well and is every bit a part of his playlist today. "El Rey", a mariachi song from ''Twang'' which Strait performed entirely ''en español'', is another rare exception.
* NamesTheSame: Somehow, he ended up recording two different songs both titled "She'll Leave You with a Smile" only five years apart. Only the latter was released as a single.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: He had both "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" and "Love Done Gone" on hold, but they ended up being recorded instead by Music/KennyChesney and Billy Currington, respectively.

* ChartDisplacement: Despite his massive catalog of #1 hits (44 on ''Billboard'', 60 on all industry charts), many keystone songs didn't make the summit anywhere, such as "The Fireman", "Marina del Rey", "Amarillo by Morning", or the Music/AlanJackson duet "Murder on Music Row" (although the latter is justified in that it was never a single). He's also had three #1 hits that have held on for five weeks: the first is the iconic "Love Without End, Amen", and the other two are "I've Come to Expect It from You" and "One Night at a Time", which are nowhere near as iconic as "I Cross My Heart", "Heartland", "Check Yes or No", "Write This Down", "Give It Away" etc.

* OldShame: Averted, as he still performs many of his earlier hits in concert, including his debut single "Unwound." Likely the only exception was his second single, "Down and Out" (a No. 16 song in the fall of 1981), which George has stated was not one of his favorite songs and noted he would never consider releasing, much less recording, today. Indeed, the only places to find "Down and Out" are on his debut album, ''Strait Country'', and his first greatest hits album; it does not appear on any other of his greatest hits albums or his 1995 box set ''Strait Out of the Box''.

* FountainOfExpies: He was pretty much the go-to model for the "hat act" craze of the 90s.

* ProductionPosse: He has had nearly the same batch of session musicians (bassist Glenn Worf, drummer Eddie Bayers, steel guitarist Paul Franklin, guitarists Steve Gibson and Brent Mason, and fiddler Stuart Duncan) and the same producer (Tony Brown) on every album between ''Pure Country'' in 1992 and ''Love Is Everything'' in 2013. In addition, nearly every album dating back to his first has had at least one song written by Dean Dillon. ''Cold Beer Conversation'' broke the trend, as it was instead produced by his engineer Chuck Ainlay.

* ProductionPosse: He has had nearly the same batch of session musicians (bassist Glenn Worf, drummer Eddie Bayers, steel guitarist Paul Franklin, guitarists Steve Gibson and Brent Mason, and fiddler Stuart Duncan) and the same producer (Tony Brown) on every album since ''Pure Country'' in 1992. In addition, nearly every album dating back to his first has had at least one song written by Dean Dillon. His 2015 single "Let It Go" broke from the trend, with engineer Chuck Ainlay producing instead.

* ProductionPosse: He has had nearly the same batch of session musicians and the same producer (Tony Brown) on every album since ''Pure Country'' in 1992. In addition, nearly every album dating back to his first has had at least one song written by Dean Dillon.

* Strait also has since said his hit "You Know Me Better Than That" is not a song he would record today; alas, he hasn't played it live since it was an active single.

** He hated his first music video, for "You Look So Good in Love", so much that he asked that it be withdrawn from rotation. He has very rarely done a music video since.

* ProductionPosse: He has had nearly the same batch of session musicians and the same producer (Tony Brown) on every album since ''Pure Country'' in 1992. In addition, nearly every album dating back to his first has had at least one song written by Dean Dillon.

* OldShame: Averted, as he still performs many of his earlier hits in concert, including his debut single "Unwound".

* OldShame: Averted, as he still performs many of his earlier hits in concert, including his debut single "Unwound".

* OldShame: Averted hard, as he still performs many of his earlier hits in concert, including his debut single "Unwound".

* FollowTheLeader: In the 1990s, there was insurgence of so-called "hat acts" who, like Strait, were just good ol' clean-cut boys in cowboy hats. Some were good in their own right (such as ClintBlack, AlanJackson and KennyChesney); others just got lost in the shuffle. Over time, "hat act" became a derogatory term.