“My family, who are all here tonight. My wife Norma, my son Bubba, his wife Tamara, and my grandkids Harvey and Jilliann. It’s so great to have you all here.Ā Ā But especially Norma, who’s supported me for just shy of 53 YEARS in December. It’s been an amazing 53 years.”
With a whopping 44 chart-toppers onĀ Billboardās HotĀ CountryĀ Songs list,Ā George StraitĀ is a bona fide legend in the genre and beyond. And at the 2024Ā CMA AwardsĀ at Nashvilleās Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday (Nov. 20), Strait made a rare public appearance to accept the Willie Nelson lifetime achievement award from the Country Music Association.
he tribute opened with 2024 CMA co-host Lainey Wilson singing āAmarillo by Morning,ā a hit for Strait in 1983. She was followed by a fiery-eyed, ferocious Jamey Johnson performing Straitās 2006 single āGive It Away,ā a Hot Country Songs No. 1 hit that Johnson co-wrote. (Johnson made headlinesĀ just days agoĀ after being arrested in Tennessee on Sunday and charged with speeding and drug possession; Johnson has spoken about his sobriety journey before, but acknowledges that he sometimes smokes āa joint.ā)
Miranda Lambert and Parker McCollum followed with Straitās 2008 single āTroubadour,ā a fitting enough song for the 72-year-old legend given that itās a meditation on music, aging and legacy (āI was a young troubadour/ When I rode in on a song/ And Iāll be an old troubadour when Iām goneā).
After that, Strait himself proved heās far from done, taking the stage with Chris Stapleton for a full-throated duet on āHonky Tonk Hall of Fameā from his recent albumĀ Cowboys and DreamersĀ while his wife, Norma Strait, bopped along from the crowd.
āFirst of all, I want to thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ,ā Strait said after wrapping his performance and receiving a standing ovation from the crowd (including Luke Combs, who mimed bowing down to Strait). āI want to thank the CMAs for adding my name to the incredible artists on this small list of recipients, bearing the name of the icon Willie Nelson.ā
He also thanked āthese great artistsā who performed his songs on the CMA Awards stage. āItās amazing to hear yāall do them ā Iām so glad I got to āem before you,ā he said, laughing, and adding, āNot you, Jamey.ā
After paying homage to some of his departed associates (fiddle player Gene Elders, road manager Tom Foote and manager Erv Woolsey have all passed away in 2024), Strait paid tribute to his closest companion for more than half a century. āI want to thank my family who are all here tonight. My wife Norma, my son Bubba, his wife Tamara, my grandkids Harvey and Jillian,ā Strait said. āEspecially Norma, who has supported me for just shy of 53 years ā itās been an amazing 53 years.ā