Fans call George Strait the King of Country Music for a reason. He has been releasing top-notch tunes since the early ‘80s. The Texas native also helped to swing the genre back toward traditional country music during his reign over the charts in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Maybe, more importantly, Strait has influenced countless artists including Blake Shelton.
Recently, Shelton took part in the Country Music Association’s High Notes series to talk about this latest single “Texas.” While talking about the song, he reflected on the impact that Strait has had on him and the rest of the country music world.
Blake Shelton on the Impact and Influence of George Strait
Blake Shelton’s latest single “Texas” contains multiple nods to George Strait. Notably, it references “Amarillo by Morning” and “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” in the chorus. During the interview, he discussed Strait’s influence.
“It’s hard to measure George Strait’s influence on my career because he has been a constant presence my entire country music fan life. Since I can remember, he’s been on the radio—way before I knew I wanted to be a country artist, way after I became a country artist,” Shelton said. “the amount of artists that he’s influenced, the different generations that he’s influenced, and he’s going to continue to influence. I don’t know how you could ever measure that,” he added.
Additionally, Shelton revealed how he tries to follow in Strait’s footsteps over the years. “I just love his sound. I love the way that he’s always stayed true to himself but made new different-sounding records. And I’ve taken note of that,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to do that, keep moving forward and pushing the envelope a little bit. I just can’t say enough great things about George.”
Shelton’s latest single highlights his desire to keep doing new things. The song, he said, “is not like anything else that I’ve ever done to the point where I had to keep telling my producer, Scott, and the musicians like, ‘Hey, let’s not go too far down the road with this, away from who I am. Let’s try to find some middle ground, here.’”
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