Country Music Hall of Fame member George Strait became the first music artist in history, regardless of genre, to place 60 songs at the top of the charts when Mediabase named “Give It All We Got Tonight” as this week’s most played song on country radio. The song is the first single from Strait's new album Love Is Everything, released last week. “Give It All We Got Tonight” was written by Mark Bright, Tim James and Phil O’Donnell.
“I didn’t realize we were making history -- I just hoped we were putting out music that my fans would enjoy,” said Strait. “As always, I’m thankful to the fans and country radio for their support on all 60 of these number one songs as well as my entire career. They are the ones who made this happen.”
Strait fans, radio stations and some of country music’s biggest artists joined the "Sixty For Sixty" movement at sixtyforsixty.com to accomplish the historic career milestone -- giving Strait his 60th No. 1 single, while he was 60 years old. It came down to the wire, as Strait turned 61 over the weekend (on Saturday, May 18), but in the words of the man himself, “I may be 61, but I don’t feel a day over 60.”
"The amount of support shown by fans, industry and especially country radio to give George his 60th No. 1 single is the ultimate testament in a format that has been defined by his music," said Royce Risser, SVP Promotion for Universal Music Group Nashville. "No one is more deserving of this accomplishment than George Strait, the undeniable King of Country Music. Happy Birthday George!"
Love Is Everything, which Strait co-produced with longtime collaborator Tony Brown, is receiving stellar reviews during its first week of release, including:
"This veteran may hang up his traveling boots, but his consistency as a recording artist isn't slowing down.” -- Associated Press
“In the case of Love Is Everything, it truly is an album worth giving a listen to, and then again, and then again. Strait and longtime producer Tony Brown have assembled incredible material – which granted, is a given with a Strait album. If you haven't bought a Strait release in a few years, this might be the one!” – Billboard
“[George] shows he hasn't lost a step in the studio. (* * * * out of four).” – USA Today
“His voice is in superb form and … the album sparkles. Among the highlights is ‘That’s What Breaking Hearts Do,’…. conjuring sensibility similar to Bruce Springsteen’s ‘All That Heaven Will Allow.’ ‘Blue Melodies’ is a reminder of how effectively a heart can be broken by a voice, an acoustic guitar, and lyrics that succinctly summarize when a sentiment is ‘too sad to sing.’” - Boston Globe
“Since he began churning out country hits in 1981…Strait has cultivated a kind of stoic dependability unmatched among his peers. On Love Is Everything, his stirring new album…. [Strait’s] vocals feel newly vulnerable, particularly in ballads like ‘Blue Melodies’… and the gorgeous ‘I Just Can't Go On Dying Like This,’ which Strait wrote back in the mid '70s….He's putting more of himself in the music, too....There's the unusually vivid language in ‘That's What Breaking Hearts Do,’ which Strait co-wrote with his son Bubba…. But neither of those cuts prepares you for ‘I Believe,’ another song by George and Bubba Strait (with Dean Dillon) that appears to be about the shooting last year at Sandy Hook Elementary School. ‘The night's as clear as a big desert sky / But it's hard to see stars with these tears in my eyes," Strait sings over delicate acoustic fingerpicking, "Yeah, it's hard not to cry / There's 26 reasons why.’ ‘I Believe’ goes on to ponder ‘broken hearts that'll never beat the same’ and ‘shattered lives still reeling from the pain,’ yet insists in a chorus swollen with strings that ‘there's someone who's looking after me.’ Carefully rendered and unabashed in its optimism, it's as personal as anything Strait has ever recorded. And it's completely devastating. Three stars.” – Los Angeles Times
Strait kicked off 2013 in high gear for the first leg of his The Cowboy Rides Away Tour. Only the June 1 show in San Antonio’s Alamodome remains in the sold out tour. Known as the “house they built for George,” the Alamodome sold out within an astounding six minutes of going on sale. The Country Music Hall of Fame member is the highest ranked country act on Pollstar's 2013 Worldwide Tickets Chart. Dates for the second leg of his tour, taking place in 2014, will be announced later this year.
For more information on Strait, Love Is Everything, The Cowboy Rides Away Tour and more, visit www.GeorgeStrait.com.
