Strait: Texan Of The Year
Country legend George Strait is to
become the second only musician in over
40 years to receive the honour of being
named ‘Texan Of The Year’ by the Texas
Legislative Conference. With more than 60
charttoppers to his name and album sales
exceeding 70 million, as well as a host of
awards, it was his charitable efforts raising
awareness and funds for the Hurricane
Harvey relief effort that clinched it for the
All My Ex’s Live In Texas and Ocean Front
Property singer.
In a press release from the Legislative
Conference, chair, Doug Miller stated, “No
one has done more than George Strait to
raise awareness and funds for the Hurricane
Harvey relief efforts… He put his well-
earned reputation on the line and asked not
only his fellow Texans to step up, but all
Americans. And they have.”
In a concert in San Antonio as part of
the Hand In Hand benefit Strait raised
over $55 million in relief aid for victims
of the devastating hurricane which saw
so much of Texas flooded last year. Strait
was instrumental in the event’s conception
and was joined on the night by Miranda
Lambert, Chris Stapleton, and Robert
Earl Keen.
Strait is set to receive his Texan of the
Year award at the official ceremony in New
Braunfels, Texas, on March 22.
Travis arrest
video
You might remember the run-in Randy Travis
had with the law when he was arrested in
2012 when he was arrested for driving under
the influence (DUI). Now, despite Travis’ wife,
Mary-Davis Travis suing the state of Texas to
block the release of the video claiming it was
an invasion of privacy and should have been
kept private as a medical record, the three hour
police video has now been made public.
In the tape, the Forever And Ever, Amen
singer is drunk and belligerent with police
officers and his naked body is edited out of
some portions.
In a statement released by Travis’ publicity
team following the publishing of videos on
various media outlets they stated, “Randy’s
behaviour was extremely altered the evening
of his arrest due to the state of his mental
health, and substances in his body, causing
him to do and say things that were entirely out
of character. He suffered a severe concussion
and sustained numerous other injuries from
the crash.
“Notwithstanding the release of the tape,
Randy and his team will have their day in court
regarding the ongoing lawsuit against the State
of Texas in relation to the violation of his civil
rights.
“Randy Travis is well-known to be a loving,
caring person who is respectful of everyone,
a video that shows anything otherwise only
underscores that he was absolutely not himself.
Randy is deeply apologetic for his actions that
evening. A man of integrity with a good heart,
Randy does not and will never condone these
types of actions that distort the true beliefs of
Randy Travis and his entire family.”
In 2013 Travis, who was one of the major
players of the New Traditional movement and
whose Storms Of Life is a landmark recording,
suffered a debilitating stroke that has only
recently seen him getting back behind the mic.
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