Remembering George Strait

[Bob Of Burleson]

George Strait:
a fond, funny look
back at the King’s career

By Shirley Jinkins
dfw.com

George Strait has always been more at home in dusty rodeo ovals and team-roping arenas than in the huge football stadiums and concert venues where he has played out his remarkable run in the music business.

Calf-roping turf is where I believe I first saw him perform informally, in San Angelo in the ’70s on the college rodeo-ag show circuit.

He and the Ace in the Hole Band would become regionally popular at the dance halls and clubs from there, but my next connection with the name was like most people’s: in 1981, when Unwound became a country hit, and Strait’s first single out of the chute for a major music label.

My laid-back editor at the time, at a five-day-a-week community newspaper in Irving, would incessantly sing Unwound around the small office. Recently divorced, his mantra was: “That woman that I had wrapped around my finger just came unwound.” It was infectious, and Strait had that hangdog whine of regret that fit his mood.

George was hitting his stride in late 1981, when I signed on at the Star-Telegram.

Billy Bob’s Texas had opened earlier that year, and it was there where I saw him occasionally during the early to mid-’80s. By then he had a nice set of hits, including Fool Hearted Memory, You Look So Good in Love, Right or Wrong and, of course, Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind.

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