Song:Ocean Front Property
Album:Icon2
George Strait's easygoing style has been a big hit with country music fans for over thirty years. He has had a total of 44 number one country hits including Ocean Front Property in 1987. He crossed over to pop in the 90s on the strength of the soundtrack for the 1992 film Pure Country. He was born May 18, 1952 in the San Antonio suburb of Poteet, TX. His father was a junior high school math teacher and cattle rancher. When his parents divorced, George and his brother John Jr. were raised by their father. He played in rock bands while in high school. After his 1971 marriage, he enlisted in the US Army and played in bands. He also earned a degree in agriculture at Southwest Texas State. His band Ace in the Hole played Texas clubs. They did well regionally but Strait wanted to move to Nashville. But he didn't know anyone there. Club owner Erv Woolsey once worked for MCA Records and convinced MCA Nashville execs to come to Texas and check Strait out. Strait signed a solo deal with MCA in 1981. The Ace In The Hole band came with him. After his 1981 debut single Unwound reached the country top ten, Strait had a total of 17 number one country hits in the 80s. Ocean Front Property was his first album to debut at number one on the Country Album chart. And it was also the first to be certified 2XPlatinum. And of course the single Ocean Front Property topped the Country Singles chart. The song was written by veteran songwriter Dean Dillon, his frequent partner Royce Porter and legendary songwriter Hank Cochran. Dillon has written several hits for Strait including The Chair and Easy Come, Easy Go. Cochran wrote Patsy Cline's I Fall To Pieces among other things. Strait starred in the 1992 film Pure Country. The film only grossed $15M. But the soundtrack sold over six million copies and was a big success. It's his best selling album to date. MCA released the 4CD box set Strait Out Of The Box in 1995. The problem is he has had a lot of hits since then and they probably need to release a new box set. This comp is part of the Icon series released by Universal last year. This 2CD version is a good intro to Strait's music. It is also available as a single CD. George Strait's chart success has slowed down a bit. But he's still a tremendous live draw so I expect his popularity will continue for many years. Here's George Strait performing Ocean Front Property in Tucson late 80s.
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