Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard…all of these artists have had such a great influence on country music that they are now called “legends.” But there is one artist who, according to the numbers, is the greatest country artist of all time, and it isn’t anyone named above.
There is a good reason why country fans refer to George Strait as “The King of Country,” and a recent report by Billboard explains why. Billboard gathered country chart data and statistics from the past six decades in order to determine who is the top country artist of all time. After they finished all of their research, they concluded that the numbers don’t lie…Strait is the greatest country artist in history.
Strait has earned a total of 44 number one hits on the Hot Country Songs chart, a record which was previously held by Twitty, who had 40. When all charts are brought into play, Strait’s total of number one hits rings in at 60.
As for albums, Strait has placed 26 in the top spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. He is one of the best-selling artists of any genre, with 13 multi-platinum, 33 platinum, and 38 gold albums.
With all of these facts lined up, it’s really no surprise that Billboard found Strait to be the top country artist of all time!
The nine remaining artists ranked in the top ten of Billboard‘s all-time country artist list are Haggard, Willie Nelson, Alabama, Twitty, Charley Pride, Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Tim McGraw.
Congratulations to all of these artists, and especially Strait, on this incredible achievement! You can listen to Strait sing one of his many number one hits in the clip below.