December 8, 2024

The country music icon took the stage at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 20 to accept the honor

 

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“Cheers, brother!” Strait said after the performance.

The recognition comes after a wildly successful career for the singer, who has been dubbed the “King of Country.”

In the four decades since his debut album in 1981, he has released over 30 platinum or multi-platinum records. He has also produced 60 No. 1 singles and is the only performer in history to have a Top 10 hit every year for over 30 years. In 2024, he released his 31st studio album, Cowboys and Dreamers.

This year, Strait also broke a record for the largest ticketed concert in U.S. history with over 110,000 people in attendance at his show in College Station, Texas, edging out the Grateful Dead’s longstanding title run with over 107,000 attendees at a 1977 show in New Jersey.

American Country musician George Strait plays guitar as he performs onstage, Fresno, California, April 19, 1985.
George Strait performing in Fresno, Calif. in 1985. PAUL NATKIN/GETTY

During that time Strait has received a number of accolades, including 16 Grammy Award nominations and one win for best country album for 2008’s Troubadour. He also has a number of CMA honors, including 17 wins and 83 nominations, making him the most-nominated artist in the awards’ history. Among his wins, the singer has been named entertainer of the year three times, in 1989, 1990 and 2013.

Wednesday’s lifetime honor comes one week after it was first revealed that Strait would be the latest artist to get the award, which was first introduced in 2012 and has since been handed out to Kenny Rogers (2013), Johnny Cash (2015), Dolly Parton (2016), Kris Kristofferson (2019), Charley Pride (2020), Loretta Lynn (2021) and Alan Jackson (2022).

Check out all of PEOPLE’s full CMA Awards coverage here. 

“There have been few other artists as authentically Texas and authentically Country as George Strait, and country music fans all over the world have been better for it,” Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer said in a statement at the time.

She added, “As a three-time CMA Entertainer of the Year and the most nominated artist of all time, he serves as an inspiration and icon to many of the great, new artists we know today. I am thrilled we are awarding him with this deserving honor.”

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The 58th Annual CMA Awards broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on ABC. The show streams the following day on Hulu.

 

 

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