Love Is Everything - George Strait

I Just Can't Go On Dying Like This I Thought I Heard My Heart Sing That's What Breaking Hearts Do You Don't Know What You're Missing

George Strait decided he'd retire from the road once he turned 60, so he launched a farewell tour in 2013 that is scheduled to run into 2014. Hanging up his concert hat doesn't necessarily indicate that he's taking a break from recording, so there's no suggestion that Love Is Everything — his 28th studio album, released in May of 2013, just as the farewell tour began — will be his final recording. True enough, Love Is Everything does not have the gravity that's required of a final statement, as it glides by with the natural ease that has been Strait's signature since the start. This light touch combined with Strait's unapologetic slowing gait — there aren't nearly as many breezy numbers as there were last time around on 2011's Here for a Good Time — make for an appealingly mellow little record, one heavy on ballads ranging from such sweet pieces of sunburnt pop as "Sittin' on the Fence" to such old-fashioned romantic crooning such as "I Just Can't Go on Dying Like This," which would have felt equally comfortable in the hands of either George Jones or Frank Sinatra. Strait can still kick up a little dust — "The Night Is Young" is a good Texas two-step, "I Thought I Heard My Heart Sing" nearly bounces along on the giddiness of its melody — but he's not so concerned in exercising that swing muscle all that often. He'd rather lay back and sings songs of love won and lost, and even if that means Love Is Everything isn't necessarily ambitious, it is remarkably satisfying.

Born: May 18, 1952 in Poteet, TX

Genre: Country

Years Active: '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

Out of all the new country singers to emerge in the early '80s, George Strait stayed the closest to traditional country. Drawing from both the honky tonk and Western swing traditions, Strait didn't refashion the genres; instead, he revitalized them for a new decade. In the process, he became one of the most popular and influential singers of the decade, sparking... Full Bio

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George Jones DEAD -- Country Music Megastar Dies at 81

8:51 AM PT -- Country superstar Alan Jackson -- who's known George for years -- tells TMZ ... “Well, heaven better get ready for some great country music."

He adds, "While George was known for his wild and crazy days, I’ve known him for 25 years as a friend. He had grown into a real good man. Of course, he will always be the greatest singer and interpreter of real country music – there’ll never be another."

"Like the song says, ‘You know this old world is full of singers, but just a few are chosen to tear your heart out when they sing. Imagine life without them…Who’s gonna fill their shoes.’”

8:04 AM PT -- George's publicist has released a statement on the singer's passing ... saying, "Today is a sad day for music. George said to me once, 'One day I'll Join the Angel band.' Well, today he did."

The statement continues, "George passed with his family by his side and the official cause of death is being listed as  'Hypoxic Respiratory Failure.'"

FYI -- H.R.F. means the lungs couldn't pump enough oxygen to the rest of the body.

7:44 AM PT -- A family member tells TMZ ... "He has been on oxygen for a long while now and his lungs finally just couldn’t do it anymore and they collapsed and he passed away. He couldn’t breathe anymore on his own."

George Jones ... the country music megastar whose heartfelt vocals and close-to-home lyrics defined the genre for generations ... died today.  He was 81.

Jones was hospitalized in Nashville on April 18 for a fever and irregular blood pressure, though the cause of death was not immediately released.

Jones was in the middle of a tour -- which he announced would be his last -- when he fell ill. Several dates had already been canceled.

Jones' towering influence on country music was equaled only by his public persona ... which often imitated the melodrama in his songs ... and was well-chronicled in the tabloids. He was married four times -- once to Tammy Wynette -- and made countless headlines for drinking, stormy romances and violent rages.

But his star-power in country music cannot be overstated. Jones has charted more country hits than any other artist ... "He Stopped Loving Her Today" is perhaps his biggest, but the list of charted hits is around 150.

He was a Grand Ole Opry member, a Kennedy Center Honoree, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992 ... though given how much influence he had on country music ... they might as well have honored him every year.

Jones' first number one hit was "White Lightning" in 1959.

Jones nearly died in a car wreck in 1999, but recovered and kept his career vibrant right up until his death.

He is survived by four children and his fourth wife of 30 years, Nancy.

 

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