On This Day in 1981, George Strait Released His Debut Album ‘Strait Country’ and Changed the Face of Country Music Forever

On this day (September 4) in 1981, George Strait released his debut album, Strait Country. The release introduced Strait and his against-the-grain style of neotraditional country music to the world. While it wasn’t a massive chart hit, the album and Strait’s future releases helped to shape the future of modern country music.

Today, Strait is hailed as the King of Country Music. He has more than 60 No. 1 singles, a record-breaking concert, and several classic albums under his belt. However, when Strait Country hit record store shelves in 1981, he was a largely unknown country singer from Texas. He introduced himself to the world with his debut single “Unwound” which was co-penned by a then-unknown songwriter named Dean Dillon who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2020, 14 years after Strait was inducted.

[RELATED: How the “King of Country Music” George Strait Learned To Be Country]

George Strait Makes His Debut with Strait Country

George Strait’s ascent to country music royalty started with a song. MCA offered the 29-year-old Texan a one-song deal. They told him if he could get a hit, they would give him an album deal. So, he cut his debut single “Unwound” and released it in April 1981.

Dean Dillon and Frank Dycus originally wrote the song for Johnny Paycheck. However, he was in jail at the time. As a result, the song made its way to Strait. It peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. That was enough for MCA to give Strait the green light to cut an album. Dillon and Dycus would go on to have writing credits on six of the album’s 10 songs.

Strait Country wasn’t a major chart hit. It peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. However, it was still in the top 40 when released he released his sophomore album in June of the next year.

The album’s chart performance pales in comparison to its impact on country music, though. In the early ‘80s, the Urban Cowboy movement was starting to gain ground. At the same time, the warring factions of the Nashville Sound and the Outlaw Country movement were fighting for airtime and sales. Strait overlooked the trends and produced traditional-sounding country music. Critics described it as a combination of Texas honky tonk and the Bakersfield sound. The combination would color the output of neotraditional country artists for decades to come.

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