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George Strait: Things I Never Knew

'New Yorker' Story Full of New Information

You can learn a thing or two from a 7,600-word feature story.

The brand new New Yorker profile on George Strait -- in the July 24 issue -- is full of stories and facts about Strait, his legendary career and a few quotes from the man of few words.

And here are the parts I never knew before:

1. When he auditioned to be the singer of a band when he was at Southwest Texas State University, his audition song was Bobby Helms' "Fraulein." He got the job.

2. Strait stopped writing all of his songs after he signed his record deal. "I was finding what I thought were better songs than what I was writing. Maybe I was intimidated, a little bit," he said.

3. Strait isn't thrilled that his songs aren't getting radio spins. "Radio's not playing me anymore. Which is a hard pill to swallow, after all these years," Strait said.

4. Strait's 2015 album Cold Beer Conversation was the first one that had no Top 10 hits. "I hung on for dear life, for a lot of years," he said.

5. A song Strait wrote with Jamey Johnson -- "Kicked Outta Country" -- is all about how George Jones, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash did just fine even after radio stopped playing them.

6. Reba McEntire said Strait was such a hit with the ladies, that during one show they played together in Oklahoma, drastic measures had to be taken. "The girls was gettin' after him so bad, that the club had to stack bales of hay in front of the stage. He's a sexy little rascal," she said.

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