George Strait Has Rarely Granted Interviews Since His Daughter’s Death

George Strait is arguably country music’s biggest star, yet he’s rarely granted any interviews to the press.

Part of being a country singer means that everybody wants to talk to you. As a general rule, artists happily talk to publications about their life and their music. They know interviews can be a good way to get the word out about a new single or album.

Not all country stars have relied on interviews to help them propel their career. One such star is the “King of Country,” George Strait, who rarely agrees to an interview.

But that wasn’t always the case, as Strait participated in his fair share of interviews during the early years of his career.

His Reason For It All Will Break Your Heart

That all changed in 1986, after Strait and his wife Norma’s oldest child, their 13-year-old daughter, Jenifer, was killed in a car accident.

Jenifer’s death weighed heavily on Strait. He didn’t want to get the public involved in his private struggle.

Still, his fans grieved alongside him, and some created videos honoring Jenifer. One such video plays photos of Jenifer in a slideshow, accompanied by her father’s heartbreaking song, “Baby Blue.”

It’s worth noting that “Baby Blue” is not about Jenifer (Strait didn’t write the song). But it is a mournful-sounding track, and it was released two years after Jenifer’s death.

Speaking to The New Yorker magazine in one of the few interviews he granted since losing his daughter, Strait explained why he cut the number of interviews he agreed to.

He simply didn’t want to be asked about Jenifer’s death because he didn’t think he could handle discussing it.

“I just didn’t feel like talking about it, so I quit…I did want to keep singing, absolutely,” he said. “But I was at the point where I’m [like], ‘Alright, if this is going to cost me my career, then so be it, but it’s the only way I’m going to be able to cope with it.’ It just kind of turned out the way it did. It wasn’t an intentional thing.“

His Career Still Flourished Despite His Decision

Although Strait felt that his career could suffer due to his lack of interviews, the opposite occurred. Throughout the next three decades he scored one chart-topping hit after the next, and he now has more number ones than any other artist in country music history.

“Everything just kept on going,” Strait said, “it didn’t make a bit of difference.”

It goes to show that Strait’s talent speaks entirely for itself.

But since Strait’s interviews are so rare, we do enjoy reading and listening to them whenever they occur. You can listen to his full interview with The New Yorker in the sound clip below.