The “King of Country Music” George Strait made fans emotional during a recent concert.
At a performance in Philadelphia last week, Strait, 72, performed his 2011 song “I’ll Always Remember You,” which contains a spoken bridge about his potential retirement. When a fan shared a video of the performance on social media, many fans expressed sadness at the subject matter.
“I have maybe five good years to sing my songs for you folks,” Strait said in the song. “But hell, it’s been around 50 now. And I still love it just as much as I ever did. When I walk through those curtains and I see your smiling faces, my feet don’t touch the ground again until I walk back out and get on that bus. I don’t know how many more years I can do this. I figure a few. I do want you to know, though, when I do walk off this stage and I’m settled in far away from all this, I’ll still hear your screams and cheers in my mind, and I will always remember you.”
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Several fans commented on the video of the performance, emotional over hearing the country legend’s touching message.
“Don’t make me cry George,” one fan wrote on TikTok.
Another comment read, “This one’s gonna hurt when he goes.”
“Not ready for that day… the king will forever be the king,” a fan wrote.
While loyal fans became emotional at seeing Strait’s performance of “I’ll Always Remember You,” his reps confirmed with Fox News Digital that he performs this at every show.
In 2012, Strait announced his retirement from touring; however, he occasionally performs for his country fans from time to time.
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Although Strait appeared mindful of the physical toll that the road takes on a performer, he has not shown signs of slowing down.
In September, he released his first album in five years, “Cowboys and Dreamers.”
Also in 2024, the “Amarillo by Morning” singer broke a U.S. concert attendance record for the largest U.S. ticketed show when he stepped onstage at Kyle Field at Texas A&M in College Station.
At the time, Strait played to a crowd of 110,905 fans in central Texas, as he broke an all-time attendance record previously set by the Grateful Dead nearly 50 years ago.
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“The energy was absolutely incredible. We felt like we were making history, even before the record-breaking attendance was announced,” an insider told Fox News Digital about his performance. “Kyle Field is already an amazing place, and this just took it to another level.”
“So many Texans grew up on George Strait, so to have him perform in the heart of Aggieland where he is so beloved, was something really special. From packed floor seats to the top rows on the highest deck, everyone was all in for George.”
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The Texas native grew up ranching on his family’s 2,000-acre cattle farm. He was inspired by British Invasion rock groups in the 1960s and began playing in garage bands in high school, where he met his longtime love, Norma.
The country legend has achieved the most No. 1 albums in the history of country music, which includes 20 of his 60 No. 1 hits.
Strait has 13 multiplatinum albums and 38 gold albums. His 1992 “Pure Country” catalog went six times platinum, and his highest certified album is the 1995 classic “Strait Out of the Box.”
Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
