Quotes By George Strait

I'm going to write, and after two years, when I've quit touring, if a special event comes up that I want to do, by all means I will do it, but as far as a structured tour goes, at the last date of 2014 goes, that will be it for touring.

Sinatra, in my opinion, is possibly the greatest male singer of all time.

Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys are simply the best band that ever was.

I spend most of hunting season at the ranch. We all love to hunt whitetails, and we have a pretty good supply in South Texas. I also love to hunt elk in Arizona, mule deer in Utah, and I've been to Canada to hunt caribou.

I discovered in college that country music could be fun adding some swing to it.

Country music is important to me, and I love it, but it's not my whole life... I like to be outdoors, I like to hunt, I like to fish, I like to play golf.

I'm always looking for great songs, and not being much of a songwriter, I depend on great songwriters to send them to me. I go through tons of stuff, and sometimes you just find material that kind of fits and becomes something special.

I think the melody is the first time I hear in a song and if I like the melody, then I'll pay closer attention to the lyrics.

When I think about putting together an album, the process of listening to hundreds of songs each time and picking out the best 10 or so that will go on the record, it really sinks in as to just how many songs I've listened to all these years.

I've always thought that whether I'm writing or not, I've gotta pick the best songs, whether or not they're mine. I'm not gonna sing them just because I wrote them. I've gotta find the best songs to make the best record I can.

I've been fortunate.

In the beginning, I wanted to be successful. I wanted to make and have hit records. And I wanted everything that went along with it.

If you start out trying to achieve a specific thing - like doing stadium shows or going into the studio and doing an album - the end result is what counts.

Country music is important to me, and I love it, but it's not my whole life.

You know, legends are people like Haggard and Jones and Wills and Sinatra. Those people are legends. I'm just a young buck out here trying to keep in that same circle with the rest of 'em.

I'd say three years ago we played in my hometown of San Antonio for 55,000 people at the Alamodome and walking out there with a crowd like that is just, you're excited, you're scared. There are just so many emotions going on. I still get nervous for things like that until after I sing about the first one or two songs, then I settle down.

I listen to Mark Chestnutt and think he's a great singer - and he really does good material.

We work hard when we're in the studio, but then when we take our breaks, we walk outside and look around.

Even though I've been doing it for so long, I still feel fresh. Even when I walk out on stage, I still feel pretty much the same as I've always felt.

Swing is my favorite kind of music.

I'm just not going to tour. One point I want to get across to everybody is that I'm still going to make records and I may still do some events. It's not the last time I'm onstage. It's been a part of my life for too long to quit everything. I have done it since the '80s, and I think it's time now to maybe see if I can live without that part.

I want to reach the point where people hear my name and immediately think of real country music.

Of all the songs I've recorded, 'Amarillo By Morning' always sticks out in my mind.

I love the song 'El Rey.' And for years, I never knew what the song was totally about. It was something new for me. I'd never sung a song in Spanish before. Then I got the translation and saw what a really cool song it was.

I can only say thank you and thanks also to all of the great songwriters who wrote those wonderful songs that became number ones.

I think that all my albums are different enough where I don't feel like I did this the last time.

I don't mind traveling that much when I can go somewhere and stay there for a while, but touring is different. You rarely see anything. You get there early in the morning and you're resting all day, and you go in and do a sound check, and you do the show, and then bam you're gone.

If twang isn't what I do, I don't know what is.

You know, traditional country music is something that's going to be around forever.

I loved making Pure Country. It was a great learning experience for me, seeing another part of the entertainment industry.