How George Strait’s First Professional Performance Half a Century Ago Became the Unsung Turning Point for Country Music. ML
George Strait’s Legendary Career Began 50 Years Ago Today at Cheatham Street Warehouse
On October 13, 1975, George Strait played his first professional show at the Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, Texas, marking the beginning of one of the most successful careers in country music history. Fronting the Ace in the Hole Band, Strait would go on to sell out stadiums, break records for country #1 hits, and eventually be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Though this show is recognized as the official start of Strait’s country career, he had been performing for years before that. Growing up on a ranch in Frio County, Texas, he played in a Beatles-inspired rock band called the Stoics during high school. After eloping with his high school sweetheart in 1971, he served five years in the U.S. Army, where he performed in an Army-sponsored country band called Rambling Country.
Returning to Texas in 1975, Strait enrolled at Southwest Texas State University and answered a flyer seeking a lead singer for a band playing honky tonk and Western Swing. He joined the group, which renamed itself Ace in the Hole after their previous singer left.
The band began playing local venues like Cheatham Street Warehouse and Gruene Hall, later touring regionally and opening for acts like The Texas Playboys and Asleep At The Wheel. Despite initial rejection by Nashville labels who deemed him “too country,” Strait persevered, and in 1981, MCA Records signed him after the success of his single “Unwound.”
Today, 50 years later, Strait continues to perform with the Ace in the Hole Band, with original members Terry Hale and Mike Daily still by his side. From modest beginnings to country music icon, George Strait’s journey remains an inspiration to aspiring musicians everywhere.
