[ffudnebbuh]

That is what is the most interesting, he didn't cross over to any other genres as far as I know.

[RFNAPLES]

The King of Country, Strait, is strickly country--western swing revival music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, contemporary country and fresh yet traditional country western music (new traditionalist).
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Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by RFNAPLES
Bubbling Under The Top 100 Greatest Music Albums, Part 1 by RFNAPLES

[Bork]

And, on a side note, if people who aren't into country at all start their venture into it by listening to George Strait, they are most likely going to be disappointed and continue not being able to stand that genre. I purchase pretty much every (major label) country album that is released and while there is less consistency throughout the albums, largely due to strong control from Nashville which means you have to do the sappy stuff that for some reason sells good, there has been more good country during the last ten years than at any point since the mid-70's, and if you are at all interested in good time rock n' roll music country might just be your best bet. Great albums have been achieved by very few, but tons of great songs have been made by Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley, Trace Adkins, Miranda Lambert, Pat Green, Blake Shelton, Billy Currington, Rodney Atkins, Montgomery Gentry, and several others. If you like a good rocker, don't overlook new country.

[ffudnebbuh]

I wasn't slamming George Strait, but I am more fascinated that someone that I am completely unfamiliar with had sold so many albums, obviously country albums sell very well and have a solid core of faithful fans..I am familiar with some of the country artists from the 50s and 60s and my favorite from that era is George Jones. I think that he has one of the most amazing voices from any genre. It has that Scotch/Irish Appalachian sound in his voice, although I don't know what his heritage is...there is such a beautiful quality to it.

[Bork]

Oh by all means feel free to slam George Strait. He is pretty dull. However, as for crossover success the following may be of interest:

Carrying Your Love with Me (1997), Somewhere Down in Texas (2005), Troubadour (2008), and Twang (2009) all reached the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 (Highest Selling Albums). An additional nine albums have reached the top 10, not counting compilations and live albums.

Success on the singles lists (other than the country ones) have been limited, but every single release since late 1998 has appeared on the Billboard Hot 100, albeit never higher than #23. In total he has had 30 singles on the chart. As has been mentioned his style is fairly straight country without too much pop in it (as opposed to most of todays Nashville productions), so the lack of higher positions on the pop charts is not a big surprise.