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George Strait

George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. He is credited for pioneering the neotraditional country style in the 1980s, famed for his authentic cowboy image and roots-oriented sound at a time when the Nashville music industry was dominated by country pop crossover acts. Given his influence on the genre, Strait has been nicknamed the "King of Country Music" by writers and music critics. He currently holds the record for the most number one songs on all charts by an artist, in any genre of music."

Strait's success began when his first single "Unwound" was a hit in 1981, helping introduce the neotraditional movement to the mainstream. During the 1980s, seven of his albums reached number one on the country charts. In the 2000s, he was named Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music, elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and won his first Grammy award for the album Troubadour. Strait was named CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1989, 1990 and 2013, and ACM Entertainer of the Year in 1990 and 2014. He has been nominated for more CMA and ACM awards and has more wins in both categories than any other artist.

By 2009, he broke Conway Twitty's previous record for the most number-one hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart when his 44 number one singles surpassed Twitty's 40. Strait has amassed 60 number-one hits. "Give It All We Got Tonight" was number one in 2013, breaking a record also previously set by Twitty. Strait holds the record for most number one songs on all charts by an artist in any genre of music."

Strait has been known for his touring career beginning when he designed a 360-degree configuration and introduced festival style tours. For example, the Strait Tours earned $99 million in three years. His final concert for The Cowboy Rides Away Tour at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in June 2014, drew 104,793 people. It set a new record for the largest indoor concert in North America. In 2024 he set the record for the largest ticketed concert for a single act in U.S. history, with over 110,905 people at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.

Strait has sold more than 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds the RIAA record for most certified platinum albums by any artist, with 33 certified platinum albums. He also has 13 multi-platinum and 38 gold albums. His best-selling album is Pure Country (1992), which sold 6 million (6× platinum). His highest certified album is Strait Out of the Box (1995), which sold 2 million copies (it went 8× Platinum due to being a box set with four CDs). According to the RIAA, Strait is the 12th best-selling album recording artist in the United States overall selling over 69 million records across the United States.

Early life
George Harvey Strait Sr. was born on May 18, 1952, in Poteet, Texas, to John Byron Strait Sr. (January 11, 1922 – June 4, 2013), and Doris Jean Couser (June 26, 1930 – January 30, 2010).

He grew up in nearby Pearsall, in Frio County where his father was a junior high school mathematics teacher and the owner of a 2000 acre cattle ranch outside of Big Wells, Texas. The family worked at the ranch on the weekends and in the summers. When George was in the fourth grade, his father and mother were divorced, and his mother moved away with his sister, Pency. George and his brother John "Buddy" Jr. (1950–2009) grew up with their father. For most of his early life, George was in ranching alongside his older brother Buddy and his father John.

Strait began his musical career while attending Pearsall High School, where he performed in a rock and roll garage band, known as the Stoics, taking most of their influence and inspiration from the Beatles and other British Invasion-era rock groups. "The Beatles were big," Strait confirmed. "I listened to them a lot and that whole bunch of groups that were popular then." He performed in other rock bands during his high school tenure. His musical preference soon turned to country with singers Hank Thompson, Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, and Frank Sinatra influencing his style. Strait did not tune in to and listen to country music radio often as a youth, usually selecting the news and the farmer's report instead. His introduction to country music came mostly by way of live performances, which according to Strait could be heard in every town in Texas.

Marriage and military service
He eloped with his high school sweetheart, Norma Voss after their high school graduation. The couple initially married in Mexico on December 4, 1971. In the same year, he enlisted in the United States Army as an infantryman. While stationed at Schofield Barracks adjacent to Wahiawa, Hawaii as part of the 25th Infantry Division, George auditioned and began performing with an Army-sponsored country music band, "Rambling Country", which also played off-base under the name "Santee". On October 6, 1972, while still in Hawaii, George and Norma had their first child, Jenifer. He served in the United States Army from 1971 to 1975 and ultimately attained the rank of corporal.

Higher education
After George Strait was honorably discharged from the Army in 1975, he enrolled at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) in San Marcos. He graduated with a degree in agriculture. He was also presented an honorary doctoral degree by his alma mater–Texas State University in San Marcos–in a private ceremony on May 26, 2006. Strait is a loyal alumnus of the college; in 1985 he established an endowment fund for the development and operation of the Freeman Ranch for agricultural purposes, land and wildlife management, and gifts of scholarships.

1970s
During his college years, Strait joined the country band Stoney Ridge, answering a flyer the band posted around campus looking for a new vocalist. Strait renamed the group the Ace in the Hole Band, and quickly became the lead; they began to perform at different honky-tonks and bars around south and central Texas, traveling as far east as Huntsville and Houston. They gained a regional following and opened for national acts such as The Texas Playboys. Soon his band was given the opportunity to record several Strait-penned singles, including "That Don't Change The Way I Feel About You" and "I Can't Go On Dying Like This" for the Houston-based D Records independent label. However, the songs never achieved wide recognition, and Strait continued to manage his family cattle ranch during the day to make some extra cash.

While he continued to play with his band, without any real connections to the recording industry, Strait became friends with Erv Woolsey, who operated one of the bars in which the Ace in the Hole band played and who had previously worked for the major label MCA Records. Woolsey convinced some of his Music Row (Nashville) connections to come to Texas and to listen to Strait and his band play. Impressed with the performance but concerned that they could not market the Western Swing sound that the band featured, they left without offering a deal.

After several unsuccessful trips to Nashville in search of a record deal in which Strait was turned down by every label in town, he considered giving up music altogether. He was offered a job designing cattle pens and decided to take it. He gave the band notice that he was leaving, but after a discussion with his wife, she convinced him to give pursuing music one more year. Not long afterward, a major label, MCA, signed Strait to a recording contract in February 1981. The initial deal was for one song. If the single did well, the label would consider doing an album. The Ace in the Hole band remained with Strait, performing as the backup and touring band for the now solo career of Strait.

1980s
In the spring of 1981, Strait released his first single for MCA Records, titled "Unwound", which climbed to number six on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart that year and was included on his debut album Strait Country. The record featured two other singles including "Down and Out", a number 16 hit for Strait, and "If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger (There's One Coming Home)".

Strait Country was hailed by critics as being a "new-traditionalist" breakthrough that broke the trend of pop-influenced country prevalent at the time. The critically acclaimed Strait from the Heart, his second album, was released in 1982 and featured the first number-one single of his career, "Fool Hearted Memory" and the top-five Western ballad "Amarillo by Morning" which was originally sung and written by Terry Stafford in 1973. It later became one of Strait's signature songs. In 1983, Strait made his first appearance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, when the headlining star, Eddie Rabbitt became sick with the flu. Performing at that rodeo has since become a mainstay throughout his career. He has made more than 20 appearances at the rodeo and played for more than one million fans.

Strait recorded 17 number ones during the decade, including a string of five that lasted from 1983 to 1984 from his next two albums Right or Wrong, his first number-one album and the CMA award-winning Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind. The next year, he won the CMA award for top male vocalist, and released his first greatest hits compilation, which featured songs from his first three albums. Also in 1985, Strait released Something Special, the third-straight number-one album of his career, featuring the number-one single "The Chair". In 1986, Strait repeated as the CMA vocalist of the year and released his fourth number-one album #7.

Strait and his family were struck with tragedy when his 13-year-old daughter, Jenifer, was killed in a one-car, alcohol-unrelated accident in 1986. She was riding in a Ford Mustang driven by Gregory Wilson Allen, 18, of Staples, Texas. Allen was charged with a class A misdemeanor for vehicular homicide. Mike Cox, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety in Austin, said, "The responding trooper determined the cause of accident to be excessive speed and that the car did not negotiate the turn properly. Jenifer was riding in the front passenger seat, and none of the four occupants was wearing seat belts at the time. When the vehicle flipped over onto its passenger's side, Jenifer was partially ejected, killing her on impact. The incident caused George to greatly limit his contact with the media. He stopped doing interviews for many years after the accident; he and his family did not wish to discuss Jenifer's death.

George Strait's grief did not hinder his performance, however, or his output; as he released 11 straight number-one hits, starting with "Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her" in 1986 and ending with "Ace in the Hole" in 1989. The singles spanned four albums including #7, Ocean Front Property in 1987, If You Ain't Lovin' You Ain't Livin' in 1988, and 1989's Beyond the Blue Neon, all of which reached the number one spot on country album charts. Ocean Front Property was the first country album to ever debut at number one on the charts by any artist. The streak included such songs as "Ocean Front Property", "All My Ex's Live in Texas", "Famous Last Words of a Fool", and "Baby Blue". Strait finished the decade by winning the CMA Entertainer of the Year award in 1989. One year later, he won the award again.

1990s
Strait began the decade with the release of his 10th studio album, Livin' It Up, which featured two number-one hits, including "Love Without End, Amen", his first multiweek hit, and "I've Come to Expect It From You". Both songs remained first for five weeks in 1990. Chill of an Early Fall shortly followed in 1991, and received positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly noted that the album marked a shift for Strait from "repeating himself" in his previous works to producing different material. It produced the number-one songs "If I Know Me" and "You Know Me Better Than That", but ended his streak of 31 straight top-10 hits with the cover of "Lovesick Blues", which peaked at number 24. The record blocked his run of eight top-charting albums with its peak of number four. In the spring of 1992, Holding My Own was released. It did not produce any number ones, but did include two top-five songs, including "So Much Like My Dad".

Later in 1992, Strait played the main character in the film Pure Country, and released the film's soundtrack. It was his most successful studio album, producing such hits as "Heartland", "I Cross My Heart", and "When Did You Stop Loving Me", and peaked at number one and number six respectively on the Country and Billboard 200 album charts. The success continued with his next album, Easy Come, Easy Go in 1993, which reached the top five on the Billboard 200 and featured the hits "I'd Like to Have That One Back", "The Man in Love with You", and the number-one title track.

His next four albums, including Lead On in 1994, Blue Clear Sky in 1996, Carrying Your Love with Me in 1997, and 1998's One Step at a Time, all charted at number one, with Blue Clear Sky claiming the spot on its debut week, and Carrying Your Love with Me peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 for the first time in Strait's career. This series of albums produced eight number-one singles for Strait, including "You Can't Make a Heart Love Somebody", "Carried Away", "One Night at a Time", and "I Just Want to Dance with You".

During this period, Strait also released a four-disc, box-set career retrospective, Strait Out of the Box, in 1995, which also included two new songs, the top 5 hit "I Know She Still Loves Me" and the No.1 hit "Check Yes or No". It became the second-best selling box set ever with shipments of 8 million in the United States. He was named as the CMA's Top Male Vocalist in 1997 and 1998. Starting in 1997, and continuing until 2001, Strait headlined the George Strait Country Music Festival, which included artists such as Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, and others.

In an effort to introduce these acts to as many fans as possible, the festival promised not to visit any market more than twice. It played only a small number of dates, usually no more than 20 a year, but still managed to be the ninth-biggest grossing tour of 1998.

Strait completed the decade with the album Always Never the Same in 1999, which peaked at number two on country charts and matched the cross-over success of Pure Country by reaching number six on the Billboard 200. The record produced the hits "What Do You Say to That", "Meanwhile", and the number-one "Write This Down". Reviews of the album's material were generally mixed, but Entertainment Weekly observed that at this point in his career, Strait could record the "most lightweight" material and "make it soar" on the radio with his "grace". All in all, Strait scored 17 number-one hits on the Billboard country airplay charts in the decade, and carried his successes into the next century.

2000s
Strait released a self-titled album in 2000, which despite a number-one and number-seven showing on the country and Billboard 200 album charts, respectively, produced no number-one singles, and was the first studio album of his career to not be certified platinum. The singles "Go On" and "If You Can Do Anything Else" were released from the record, with both peaking in the top five. In May 2001, The Road Less Traveled was released. Reviews for the album were mostly positive; Rolling Stone described it as sticking to the formula, "but adds a few twists that make it superior to his last few releases." It featured "vocal processing", and was considered by some critics as an experimental album. Three singles were released from it, two of which reached number one, including "She'll Leave You with a Smile", his 50th on combined charts and "Living and Living Well", both of which reached the top 30 of Billboard Hot 100, with the former peaking at number 23, Strait's highest rank on the chart. The single "Run" peaked at number two and reached number 34 on the Billboard 100. Strait released two records in 2003. For the Last Time: Live from the Astrodome was a recording of the last Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to take place in the Astrodome. The performance itself set the record for paid attendance at the venue, with 68,266 people, breaking Latin superstar Selena's previous record of about 67,000 in 1995.

His next album, Honkytonkville was described as "a fiery set of hard country", and was praised "for its mixture of the old Strait with his modern, superstar self." It did not produce any number ones for Strait, but included the hits "Cowboys Like Us" and a cover of Bruce Robison's "Desperately". His 2004 performance at Reliant Stadium set a new rodeo attendance record, with 68,679 spectators. That year, he issued a greatest hits package billed as 50 Number Ones, chronicling the number-one hits of his career from all charts, starting with "Fool Hearted Memory" and ending with "She'll Leave You With a Smile." A new track, "I Hate Everything", was also included, and became his 51st overall number one in 2004.

The next year, Somewhere Down in Texas arrived, which produced the hit "You'll Be There", marking Strait's first appearance on the adult contemporary chart. The next year, he embarked on a tour that included only 18 performances, but grossed over $15 million. He attributed this success to the fact that his band and he are "musically very tight", have a large pool of songs to draw from, and perform those songs very similarly to how they sound on their albums.

On October 3, 2006, Strait marked his 30th year in the music industry with the release of a new album titled It Just Comes Natural. The album was recorded in Key West, Florida, in Jimmy Buffett's Shrimp Boat Sound Studio (said to be a better recording location due to lack of allergy flare-ups during recording process), which was also the recording location of Troubadour. It featured 15 new songs. Strait's long-time friend and songwriter, Dean Dillon, co-wrote two of the songs on the album. It received generally positive reviews from critics. People, in their four-star review, remarked, "If ever there was a natural in country music, it's Strait," while USA Today raved that "he continues to make such consistent quality look easy". The first single from the album, "Give It Away" reached number one, making one of its co-writers, country legend "Whispering Bill" Anderson, the first songwriter to have a number-one hit in five different decades. The title track, "It Just Comes Natural" became his 42nd Billboard number one.

In 2007, "Wrapped" reached number one on the Mediabase 24/7 country music charts, giving Strait his 55th overall number-one single. From January through April of that year, Strait headlined a 23-date arena tour with country-music legend Ronnie Milsap and then-newcomer Taylor Swift. He released a new album titled Troubadour on April 1, 2008. The CD contained 12 tracks, including a duet with Patty Loveless and another with long-time songwriter Dean Dillon. The lead single from the album, "I Saw God Today", debuted at number 19 on the Radio and Records and Billboard charts. It is the highest debut ever for a single from Strait and the fourth-highest debut for a song in country-music history. Troubadour debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 album charts, selling over 160,000 copies in its first week of release. "River of Love", the third single from the album, became his 57th number-one song in 2009. In April 2009, Strait was honored by the Academy of Country Music with the Artist of the Decade Award, which was presented to Strait by the previous ACM Artist of the Decade, Garth Brooks. In June of that year, he headlined the first event at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Strait's single "Living for the Night" was released on May 28, 2009, and was written by Strait, his son Bubba, and Dean Dillon. The song was the lead single from his album Twang, released on August 11, 2009. Twang was certified gold for selling over 500,000 copies.

2010s
In 2010, Billboard ranked Strait number one in the top-25 country artists of the past 25 years. On September 6, 2011, Strait released the album, Here for a Good Time, which yielded two number-one singles—"Here for a Good Time" and "Love's Gonna Make It Alright"—bringing Strait's number-one singles total to 59. The album's third single, "Drinkin' Man", was less successful, peaking at number 37.

In October 2012, Strait released the single "Give It All We Got Tonight", which was included on his album Love Is Everything, released on May 14, 2013. The song initiated a "60 for 60" movement by Strait's label, to make the song his 60th number-one single on all country charts while he was still 60 years old. The song reached the top of the Mediabase charts in May 2013. The album's next single, "I Believe", reached number 50 on the U.S. Country Airplay chart, making it Strait's first single to miss the top 40. Strait won the 2013 CMA Entertainer of the Year award.

In November 2013, Billboard presented Strait with its Legend of Live honor during the 10th annual Billboard Touring Awards ceremony. The award honors the concert industry's top artist based on Billboard's Boxscore chart and box-office performance. Strait is the first country artist to receive Billboard's highest touring accolade. On April 19, 2015, Strait made a guest appearance at the 2015 ACM Awards, he performed "All My Ex's Lives in Texas" and his new single "Let it Go".

In 2016, Strait was selected as one of 30 artists to perform on "Forever Country", for a mash-up track of "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "On the Road Again", and "I Will Always Love You", which celebrates 50 years of the CMA Awards.

In 2018, Strait released a single called "Codigo", after a brand of tequila produced by a company in which he had invested.

The Cowboy Rides Away Tour
On September 26, 2012, Strait announced that he was retiring from touring, and that his Cowboy Rides Away Tour would be his last. Tickets for both arenas and stadiums on the Cowboy Rides Away Tour sold out in a matter of hours. The tour started on January 18, 2013, in Lubbock, Texas, and was divided into two legs: 21 concerts in 2013 and 26 concerts in 2014. The tour ended in Arlington, Texas, on June 7, 2014. Strait was supported on the tour by his longtime 11-member touring group, the Ace in the Hole Band. For the 2013 leg, Martina McBride was the opening performer.

On January 9, 2014, Strait initiated the second leg of the tour, which featured the opening performers Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Vince Gill, Lee Ann Womack, Merle Haggard, Chris Young, Ronnie Dunn, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, and Asleep at the Wheel. Many of these performers gathered together for the tour's final concert in Arlington, Texas on June 7, before 104,793 fans—the second largest ticketed attendance ever at a single-headlining act concert in the United States. The concert also set a record for the largest gross at a single-show country concert, $18,194,374, and broke the 33-year-old record as well for "largest indoor concert ever," easily surpassing the 87,500 fans who attended the December 5, 1981, Rolling Stones concert at the New Orleans Superdome (opening acts, The Neville Brothers, followed by George Thorogood and the Destroyers).

A live album recorded from the final concert in Arlington titled The Cowboy Rides Away: Live from AT&T Stadium was released on September 16, 2014, with DVD/CDs of the concert being released on November 10, 2014, with Walmart exclusively releasing a deluxe edition including two CDs, as well. This deluxe DVD is the entire over three-hour concert and the accompanying two CDs have 28 of the 40 songs sung that night. On August 29, 2014, the Country Music Television channel broadcast a two-hour concert special of the event titled George Strait: The Cowboy Rides Away. This CMT concert special had $1 1/4$ hours of music from the concert and interviews.

Strait broke the record for most fans at a U.S. concert by a single headlining act on Saturday, June 15, 2024, with a concert at Kyle Field at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, with 110,905 fans in attendance. The record was previously held by The Grateful Dead who had 107,019 fans in attendance at their 1977 show at Raceway Park in New Jersey. The show also set a new record for Texas A&M’s Kyle Field for most fans at a single event. The previous record was on October 11, 2014, with 110,633 fans, for a Texas A&M football game against Ole Miss.

Musical style
Strait's style of country music has been largely labeled as neotraditional country, which relies on traditional instrumentation in country music, i.e. fiddle and pedal steel guitar. His style has also been labeled as Texas country, Western swing, and honky-tonk.

Personal life
Strait eloped in Mexico with his high school sweetheart Norma in December 1971. Their first child, Jenifer, was born on October 6, 1972. Their son, George Harvey Strait Jr., known as "Bubba", was born in 1981.

Jenifer was killed in an automobile accident in San Marcos on June 25, 1986, at age 13. The family set up the Jenifer Lyn Strait Foundation, which donates money to children's charities in the San Antonio area. George Strait Jr., who is a graduate of Texas A&M, competed as a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association team-roping competitor. Strait was able to watch his son compete at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2006 shortly before taking the stage for his own performance.

On April 10, 2009, John Byron “Buddy” Strait, who was George's older brother, died at the age of 58.

Since 2010, Strait has served as spokesman for the VF Corporation's Wrangler National Patriot program, a campaign designed to raise awareness and funds for America's wounded and fallen military veterans and their families. Strait says, "I've been a part of the Wrangler family for a long time... when they came to me with the idea for supporting fallen and wounded American veterans and their families, I knew I wanted to get involved." He also appeared in commercials for Tractor Supply Company.

In February 2012, Strait became a grandfather when George Strait Jr. and his wife Tamara had their first child, a son, George Harvey Strait III. Strait owns a Gulfstream G450 business jet; its tail number is N518GS. His personal aircraft is housed at the Landmark Aviation facility in San Antonio. He teamed up with Texas Governor Greg Abbott to help with disaster relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey which devastated coastal areas of Texas.

Strait along with long-time friend and business partner Tom Cusick created the Vaqueros Del Mar (Cowboys of the Sea) Invitational Golf Tournament and Concert held annually at Strait and Cusick's Texas Hill Country resort Tapatio Springs Resort near Boerne, Texas. The Invitational raises money for David Feherty's Troops First Foundation, benefiting wounded servicemen, servicewomen and their families. Since its beginning in 2012, more than US$5 million have been raised by the events. In January 2018, George Strait was named the 2018 Texan of the Year by the Texas Legislative Conference, a statewide group of business and political leaders. Strait was honored for his fundraising efforts in the wake of the widespread flooding following Hurricane Harvey.

Discography
In more than 30 years of recording, all of which have been spent with MCA Records, George Strait has garnered 61 number-one songs on all country charts (including Mediabase 24/7, the former Radio & Records chart, and the now-defunct Gavin Report chart), and has more number-one hits than any other artist in a single genre. His 44 Billboard country number-one hits are a record, four more than Conway Twitty's total that includes several duets with Loretta Lynn. Additionally, Strait is also the first artist in the history of Billboard to have at least one single enter the top 10 of a Billboard chart for 30 consecutive years, starting in 1981 when his debut single "Unwound" peaked at number six on the Hot Country Singles chart. All of his top-10 singles have been on that chart. Strait has sold more than 68 million records in the United States alone, and his certifications from the RIAA include 13 multiplatinum, 33 platinum, and 38 gold albums.

 * Strait Country (1981)
 * Strait from the Heart (1982)
 * Right or Wrong (1983)
 * Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind (1984)
 * Something Special (1985)
 * #7 (1986)
 * Ocean Front Property (1987)
 * If You Ain't Lovin' You Ain't Livin' (1988)
 * Beyond the Blue Neon (1989)
 * Livin' It Up (1990)
 * Chill of an Early Fall (1991)
 * Holding My Own (1992)
 * Easy Come Easy Go (1993)
 * Lead On (1994)
 * Blue Clear Sky (1996)
 * Carrying Your Love with Me (1997)
 * One Step at a Time (1998)
 * Always Never the Same (1999)
 * George Strait (2000)
 * The Road Less Traveled (2001)
 * Honkytonkville (2003)
 * Somewhere Down in Texas (2005)
 * It Just Comes Natural (2006)
 * Troubadour (2008)
 * Twang (2009)
 * Here for a Good Time (2011)
 * Love Is Everything (2013)
 * Cold Beer Conversation (2015)
 * Honky Tonk Time Machine (2019)
 * Cowboys and Dreamers (2024)

Filmography
Strait has acted in several films. He had a bit part in The Soldier (1982) and starred in Pure Country (1992). He also appeared as himself in Grand Champion (2002).

The film Pure Country featured George Strait in the lead role as Dusty Chandler, a famous country singer who strays too far from his country roots and traditional sound. It provided the opportunity for Strait to branch out from his own traditional country sound for a more rock-and-roll approach. The film had little success at the box office and took in only $15 million, but the soundtrack also called Pure Country, produced several hit singles for Strait. It has become his best-selling album to date. Strait had a limited role in the sequel to Pure Country, Pure Country 2: The Gift.

Honors and awards

Strait holds the record for most number-one albums and singles, gold albums, platinum albums, and multiplatinum albums in the history of country music, and is 11th in the most number-one albums in all other genres. Strait is third only to Elvis Presley and The Beatles with the most gold and platinum albums in the history of music. Strait has been certified as the 12th-best selling artist in American history, with career record sales of 70 million in the United States.

Strait has held the world record for most number one hit singles across all charts and genres with 60 number-one hits since 2013, and is the only artist in the history of music of any kind to have a top-10 hit every year for 30 years. He is also second all-time in top-10 hits in the history of music, currently five away from breaking the all-time record held by Eddy Arnold, who had 92 in his historic career. Strait has won 22 CMA Awards, including consecutive Entertainer of the Year honors in 1989 and 1990, and also just recently won that same honor in 2013 (and is the only artist to win the top honor in three different decades) and holds the career record for CMA nominations (as a whole) and the most consecutively of all time.

As of 2009, he holds the record for the most CMA awards. Strait also holds those same records for wins and nominations for the Academy of Country Music Awards. Strait was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006, performing his then-latest number-one hit "Give it Away" right before accepting his replica Hall of Fame plaque at the 40th CMA Awards. He was only the second artist (after Eddy Arnold in 1966) to be inducted into the Hall of Fame while still actively recording and producing chart-topping hits and albums.

As of June 8, 2010, Strait was named the top country-music artist of the past 25 years according to Billboard. In October 2008, the Academy of Country Music Awards named Strait their Artist of the Decade for the 2000s. He was presented the award by the previous winner Garth Brooks. Past winners of the award are Marty Robbins (1960s), Loretta Lynn (1970s), Alabama (1980s), and Garth Brooks (1990s). With the win of the entertainer-of-the-year award in 2013, he is the only artist to ever win that award in three different decades and also was the oldest winner. The win is currently the longest span between wins for that award, as well. Strait is also tied with Merle Haggard for the most male vocalist-of-the-year awards.

On June 1, 2013, Strait appeared at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas, before 70,000 fans in the last concert of the first half of his two-year farewell tour. Governor Rick Perry, who was in attendance with First Lady Anita Thigpen Perry, announced that May 18, Strait's birthday, would be "George Strait Day" in Texas each year.

In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Strait at number 156 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

title: George Strait


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Prix de Rome

The Prix de Rome or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them to stay in Rome for three to five years at the expense of the state. The prize was extended to architecture in 1720, music in 1803 and engraving in 1804. The prestigious award was abolished in 1968 by André Malraux, then Minister of Culture, following the May 68 riots that called for cultural change.

History
The Prix de Rome was initially created for painters and sculptors in 1663 in France, during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by completing a very difficult elimination contest. To succeed, a student had to create a sketch on an assigned topic while isolated in a closed booth with no reference material to draw on. The prize, organised by the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture), was open to their students. From 1666, the award winner could win a stay of three to five years at the Palazzo Mancini in Rome at the expense of the King of France. In 1720, the Académie Royale d’Architecture began a prize in architecture. Six painters, four sculptors, and two architects would be sent to the French Academy in Rome founded by Jean-Baptiste Colbert from 1666.

Expanded after 140 years into five categories, the contest started in 1663 as two categories: painting and sculpture. Architecture was added in 1720. In 1803, music was added, and after 1804 there was a prix for engraving as well. The primary winner took the "First Grand Prize" (called the agréé), and the "Second Prizes" were awarded to the runners-up.

In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte moved the French Academy in Rome to the Villa Medici, with the intention of preserving an institution once threatened by the French Revolution. At first, the villa and its gardens were in a sad state, and they had to be renovated in order to house the winners of the Prix de Rome. In this way, he hoped to retain for young French artists the opportunity to see and copy the masterpieces of antiquity and the Renaissance.

Jacques-Louis David, having failed to win the prize three years in a row, considered suicide. Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Ernest Chausson, and Maurice Ravel attempted the Prix de Rome but did not gain recognition. Ravel tried a total of five times to win the prize, and the last failed attempt in 1905 was so controversial that it led to a complete reorganization of the administration at the Paris Conservatory.

During World War II (1939–45), the prize winners were accommodated in the Villa Paradiso in Nice. The Prix de Rome was abolished in 1968 by André Malraux, who was Minister of Culture at the time. Since then, a number of contests have been created, and the academies, together with the Institut de France, were merged by the State and the Minister of Culture. Selected residents now have an opportunity for study during an 18-month (sometimes 2-year) stay at The Academy of France in Rome, which is accommodated in the Villa Medici.

The heyday of the Prix de Rome was during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It was later imitated by the Prix Abd-el-Tif and the Villa Abd-el-Tif in Algiers, 1907–1961, and later Prix d'Indochine including a bursary to visit the École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine in Hanoi, 1920–1939, and bursary for residence at the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid, 1929–present.

Winners in the Architecture category
The Prix de Rome for Architecture was created in 1720.

17th century (painting)
• 1663 – Jean-Baptiste Corneille

• 1664 – Pierre Monier or Mosnier or Meunier

• 1665 – François Bonnemer

• 1666 – No award

• 1667 –

• 1668 – François Verdier

• 1669 – Bon Boullogne

• 1670–71 – François Verdier

• 1672 – Alexandre Ubelesqui

• 1673 – Louis de Boullogne

• 1674 – Jacques de Montgobert

• 1675 – Claude Guy Hallé

• 1676 – Louis Chéron

• 1677 – No award

• 1678 – Louis Chéron

• 1679–80 – Charles Desforest

• 1681 – No award

• 1682 – Hyacinthe Rigaud

• 1683 – Gabriel Benoist

• 1684 – Gregor Brandmüller

• 1685 – Nicolas Bertin

• 1686 – Antoine Dieu

• 1687 – Jean Christophe

• 1688 – Daniel Sarrabat

• 1689 – Pierre-Jean-Baptiste de Lignières

• 1690 – or Cussin

• 1691 – Sebert

• 1692 – Benoît Le Coffre

• 1693 – Henri de Favanne

• 1694 – Noël Neveu

• 1695 – Louis Galloche

• 1696 – Pierre Dulin

• 1697 – Pierre Dulin

• 1698 – Nicolas de Poilly the Younger (1675—1747)

• 1699 – Pierre-Jacques Cazes

• 1700 – Alexis Simon Belle

18th century (painting)
• 1701 –

• 1702 – Duflos or Duflocq

• 1703 – Antoine Pesne

• 1704 – Jean Raoux

• 1705 –

• 1706–08 – No award

• 1709 – Antoine Grison

• 1710 – Jean Giral or Girac

• 1711 – François Lemoyne

• 1712 – Venard

• 1713 – Sauteny or Lanteny

• 1714 – No award

• 1715 – Joseph Wamps

• 1716 – No award

• 1717 – Charles Lamy

• 1718–20 – No record

• 1721 – Charles-Joseph Natoire

• 1722 – No record

• 1723 – François Boucher

• 1724 – Charles-André van Loo

• 1725 – Louis-Michel van Loo

• 1726 – Allais

• 1727 – Pierre Subleyras

• 1728 – Jean-Charles Frontier

• 1729 – Duflot

• 1730 – Antoine Boizot

• 1731 – Lemesle

• 1732–33 – No record

• 1734 – Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre

• 1735 – No record

• 1736 – Noël Hallé

• 1737 – Fournier

• 1738 – Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo

• 1739 – Louis-Joseph Le Lorrain

• 1740 – No record

• 1741 – Charles-Michel-Ange Challe

• 1742 – No award

• 1743 – Joseph-Marie Vien

• 1744 – No award

• 1745 – No record

• 1746 – No award

• 1747 – Pierre-Charles Le Mettay

• 1748 – Jean-Baptiste Hutin

• 1749 – Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée

• 1750 – Joseph Melling

• 1751 – Jean-Baptiste Deshays de Colleville

• 1752 – Jean-Honoré Fragonard

• 1753 – Charles Monnet

• 1754 – Jean-Pierre Chardin, jnr

• 1755 – Jean-François Amand

• 1756 – Hughes Taraval

• 1757 – Louis Jean-Jacques Durameau

• 1758 – Jean-Bernard Restout

• 1759 – Étienne de La Vallée Poussin

• 1760 –

• 1761 –

• 1762 – Jacques-Philippe-Joseph de Saint-Quentin

• 1763 – Jean-Baptiste Alizard

• 1764 – Antoine-François Callet

• 1765 – Jean Bardin

• 1766 – François-Guillaume Ménageot

• 1767 – Jean-Simon Berthélemy

• 1768 – François-André Vincent

• 1769 – Joseph Barthélémy Le Bouteux

• 1770 – Anicet Charles Gabriel Lemonnier

• 1771 – Joseph-Benoît Suvée

• 1772 – Pierre-Charles Jombert

• 1773 – Pierre Peyron

• 1774 – Jacques-Louis David

• 1775 – Jean Bonvoisin

• 1776 – Jean-Baptiste Regnault

• 1777 – Jean-Gustave Taraval

• 1778 – Jean-Antoine-Théodore Giroust

• 1779 – Louis Gauffier

• 1780 – Jean-Pierre Saint-Ours

• 1781 – Jean-Baptiste de Vignaly

• 1782 – Antoine-Charles-Horace Vernet (dit Carle Vernet)

• 1783 – Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Desmarais

• 1784 – Jean Germain Drouais and Louis Gauffier

• 1785 – Victor-Maximilien Potain

• 1786 – Charles Meynier

• 1787 – François-Xavier Fabre

• 1788 – Etienne-Barthélémy Garnier

• 1789 – Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson

• 1790 – Jacques Réattu

• 1791 – Louis Lafitte and Charles Thévenin

• 1792 – Charles Paul Landon

• 1793 – No record

• 1794–96 – No award

• 1797 – Pierre-Narcisse Guérin, Louis-André-Gabriel Bouchet and Pierre Bouillon

• 1798 – Fulchran-Jean Harriet

• 1799 – and Alexandre-Romain Honnet

19th century (painting)
• 1800 – Jean-Pierre Granger

• 1801 – Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

• 1802 – Alexandre Menjaud

• 1803 – Merry-Joseph Blondel

• 1804 – Joseph Denis Odevaere

• 1805 – Félix Boisselier

• 1806 – Félix Boisselier

• 1807 – François Joseph Heim

• 1808 – Alexandre-Charles Guillemot

• 1809 – Jérôme-Martin Langlois

• 1810 – Michel Martin Drolling

• 1811 – Alexandre-Denis-Abel de Pujol

• 1812 – Louis-Vincent-Léon Pallière

• 1813 – François-Édouard Picot and Henri-Joseph de Forestier

• 1814 – Auguste Vinchon

• 1815 – Jean Alaux (known as "Le Romain")

• 1816 – Antoine Jean-Baptiste Thomas

• 1817 – Léon Cogniet, Achille Etna Michallon

• 1818 – Nicolas-Auguste Hesse

• 1819 – François Dubois

• 1820 – Amable-Paul Coutan

• 1821 – Joseph-Désiré Court, Jean-Charles-Joseph Rémond

• 1822 – No award

• 1823 – Auguste-Hyacinthe Debay and François Bouchot

• 1824 – Charles-Philippe Larivière

• 1825 – André Giroux

• 1825 –

• 1826 – Éloi Firmin Féron

• 1827 – François-Xavier Dupré

• 1828 – No award

• 1829 –

• 1830 – Émile Signol

• 1831 – Henri Frédéric Schopin

• 1832 – Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin

• 1833 – Eugène Roger

• 1834 –

• 1835 – No award

• 1836 – Dominique Papety and

• 1837 – Jean Gilbert Murat

• 1838 – Isidore Pils

• 1839 – Ernest Hébert

• 1840 – Pierre-Nicolas Brisset

• 1841 – Auguste Lebouy

• 1842 –

• 1843 – Auguste Lebouy

• 1844 – Félix-Joseph Barrias

• 1845 – Jean-Achille Benouville

• 1846 – No award

• 1847 – Jules Eugène Lenepveu

• 1848 – Joseph Stallaert

• 1849 – Gustave Boulanger

• 1850 – William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Paul Baudry

• 1851 – François Chifflart

• 1852 – No award

• 1853 – No award

• 1854 – Émile Lévy, Félix-Henri Giacomotti and Théodore-Pierre-Nicolas Maillot

• 1855 – No award

• 1856 – Félix Auguste Clément and Jules-Élie Delaunay

• 1857 – Charles Sellier

• 1858 – Jean-Jacques Henner

• 1859 – Benjamin Ulmann

• 1860 –

• 1861 – Jules Joseph Lefebvre

• 1862 – No award

• 1863 – Joseph-Fortuné-Séraphin Layraud and Alphonse Monchablon

• 1864 – Diogène Maillart

• 1865 –

• 1866 – Henri Regnault

• 1867 – Joseph Blanc

• 1868 – Édouard-Théophile Blanchard

• 1869 – Luc-Olivier Merson

• 1870 – Fernand Lematte

• 1871 – Édouard Toudouze

• 1872 – Gabriel Ferrier

• 1873 – Aimé Morot

• 1874 – Paul-Albert Besnard

• 1875 – Léon Comerre

• 1876 –

• 1877 – Théobald Chartran

• 1878 – François Schommer and Julius Schmid

• 1879 – Alfred-Henri Bramtot

• 1880 – Henri Lucien Doucet

• 1881 – Louis Édouard Fournier

• 1882 –

• 1883 – Marcel Baschet

• 1884 – Henri Pinta

• 1885 – Alexis Axilette

• 1886 – Charles Lebayle

• 1887 – Henri-Camille Danger

• 1888 – No award

• 1889 – Ernest Laurent, Gaston Thys

• 1890 – André Devambez

• 1891 – Alexandre-Claude-Louis Lavalley

• 1892 – Georges-Auguste Lavergne

• 1893 –

• 1894 – Auguste Leroux and Adolphe Déchenaud

• 1895 – Gaston Larée

• 1896 – Charles-Lucien Moulin

• 1897 – No award

• 1898 – Jean-Amédée Gibert and William Laparra

• 1899 –

• 1900 – Fernand Sabatté

20th century (painting)
• 1901 –

• 1902 – and Victor-Oscar Guétin

• 1903 – André-Jean Monchablon and Yves Edgar Muller d'Escars

• 1904 – No award

• 1905 – No award

• 1906 –  and

• 1907 –  and Émile Aubry

• 1908 –

• 1909 – Pierre Bodard

• 1910 – Jean Dupas

• 1911 – Marco de Gastyne

• 1912 –

• 1913 – No award

• 1914 – Jean-Blaise Giraud, Jean Despujols and Robert Poughéon

• 1915–18 – No award

• 1919 –

• 1920 – No award

• 1921 – Emile-Marie Beaume and

• 1922 –

• 1923 –

• 1924 –

• 1925 – Odette Pauvert (the first woman to receive the "First Grand Prize" in painting)

• 1926 – No award

• 1927 – No award

• 1928 – Paul-Robert Bazé, Daniel-Jules-Marie Octobre and Nicolas Untersteller

• 1929 –

• 1930 – Yves Brayer

• 1931 –

• 1932 – Georges Cheyssial

• 1933 – Roland-Marie Gérardin

• 1934 –

• 1935 – No award

• 1936 – Lucien Fontanarosa and Jean Pinet

• 1937 – Pierre Robert Lucas

• 1938 – Madeleine Lavanture

• 1939 –

• 1940–42 – No award

• 1943 – Pierre-Yves Trémois and Yves Trévédy

• 1944 – Georges Marcel Jean Pichon

• 1945 – Pierre-Marie-Joseph Guyenot

• 1946 –

• 1947 – Eliane Beaupuy

• 1948 – François Orlandini

• 1949 – No award

• 1950 –  and

• 1951 – Daniel Sénélar

• 1952 –

• 1953 –

• 1954 – Armand Sinko

• 1955 –

• 1956 – Henri Thomas

• 1957 –

• 1958 – Raymond Humbert

• 1959 – Arlette Budy

• 1960 – Pierre Carron

• 1961 – Joël Moulin

• 1962 –

• 1963 – Roger Blaquière

• 1964 – Claude-Jean Guillemot

• 1965 –

• 1966 – Gérard Barthélemy

• 1967 –

• 1968 –  (last award)

17th century (sculpture)
• 1665 – François Lespingola

• 1673 – Louis Lecomte aka Le Picard

• 1674 – Jacques Prou

• 1675 – Girardon, jnr

• 1676 – Pierre Laviron

• 1678 – Pierre Laviron

• 1680 – Jean Joly

• 1682 – Nicolas Coustou

• 1683 – Pierre Lepautre

• 1684 – Robert Doisy

• 1685 – Zéphirin Adam

• 1686 – Pierre Legros, jnr

• 1687 – Jean-Louis Lemoyne

• 1688 –

• 1689 – Robert Le Lorrain

• 1690 – Hubert Collinet or Colinet

• 1691 – François Regnaudin

• 1692 – Brodon

• 1693 – Benoît Le Coffre

• 1694 – René Frémin

• 1695 – Augustin Caillot

• 1696 – Augustin Caillot

• 1697 – Guillaume Coustou

• 1698 –

• 1699 – Jean de Fer

• 1700 –

18th century (sculpture)
• 1701 – Joseph Van Clève

• 1702 – Jacques Loysel or Loizel

• 1703 – Pierre Villeneuve

• 1704 – Jean Leblanc, jnr

• 1705 – Jacques Bousseau

• 1706–08 – No award

• 1709 – François Dumont

• 1710 – Lefèvre

• 1711 – Pierre Bourlot

• 1712 – Jean-Baptiste Guyot

• 1713 – Martin

• 1714–15 – No award

• 1716 –

• 1717 – No award

• 1718 –

• 1721 – No award

• 1722 – Edmé Bouchardon

• 1723 – Lambert Sigisbert Adam

• 1724 –

• 1725 – Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne

• 1726 –

• 1727 – Jacques Roëttiers de la Tour

• 1728 – Vandervoort

• 1729 – François Ladatte

• 1730 – Claude-Clair Francin

• 1731 –

• 1732 – Jean-Baptiste Boudard

• 1733 –

• 1734 – No award

• 1735 – Guillaume II Coustou

• 1736 –

• 1737 – Le Marchand

• 1738 – Jacques Saly

• 1739 – Louis-Claude Vassé

• 1740 – Pierre-Philippe Mignot

• 1741 – François Gaspard Balthazar Adam

• 1742 – No award

• 1743 – Chasles

• 1744 – No award

• 1745 – Pierre Hubert Larchevêque

• 1746 – No award

• 1747 – Jean-Jacques Caffieri

• 1748 – Augustin Pajou

• 1749 – Guyard

• 1750 – Louis-Félix Delarue

• 1751 – Auvray

• 1752 – André Brenet

• 1753 – Jean-Baptiste d'Huez

• 1754 – Charles-Antoine Bridan

• 1755 – Pierre-François Berruer

• 1756 – Lebrun

• 1757 – Étienne-Pierre-Adrien Gois

• 1758 – Félix Lecomte

• 1759 – Claude Michel aka Clodion

• 1760 – Monot

• 1761 – Jean-Antoine Houdon

• 1762 – Louis-Simon Boizot

• 1763 – Boucher

• 1764 – Jacques-Philippe Beauvais

• 1765 – Pierre Julien

• 1766 – Nicolas Sénéchal

• 1767 – Louis-Jacques Pilon

• 1768 – Jean Guillaume Moitte

• 1769 – Jean Joseph Foucou

• 1770 – René Millot

• 1771 – Joseph Deschamps

• 1772 – François-Nicolas Delaistre

• 1773 – André Ségla

• 1774 – Pierre La Bussière

• 1775 – Barthélémy-François Chardigny

• 1776 – Antoine-Léonard Pasquier

• 1777 – François-Marie Suzanne

• 1778 – Jacques Lemaire

• 1779 – Louis-Pierre Deseine

• 1780 – Louis-Antoine Bacari

• 1781 – Jacques-Philippe Le Sueur

• 1782 – Claude Ramey

• 1783 – Augustin Félix Fortin

• 1784 – Antoine-Denis Chaudet

• 1785 – Claude Michallon

• 1786 – Edme-François-Étienne Gois

• 1787 – Barthélémy Corneille

• 1788 – Jacques-Edme Dumont

• 1789 – Antoine-François Gérard

• 1790 – François-Frédéric Lemot

• 1791 – Pierre-Charles Bridan

• 1792 – Auguste Marie Taunay

• 1793–96 – No award

• 1797 – Charles Antoine Callamard

• 1798 – Louis Delaville

• 1799 – Charles Dupaty

• 1800 –

19th century (sculpture)
• 1801 – Joseph-Charles Marin & François-Dominique-Aimé Milhomme

• 1806 – Pierre-François-Grégoire Giraud

• 1809 – Henri-Joseph Ruxthiel

• 1811 – David d'Angers

• 1812 – François Rude

• 1813 – Jean-Jacques Pradier (dit James Pradier)

• 1815 – Étienne-Jules Ramey

• 1817 – Charles-François Lebœuf (dit Nanteuil)

• 1818 – Bernard-Gabriel Seurre (dit Seurre Aîné)

• 1819 – Abel Dimier

• 1820 – Georges Jacquot

• 1821 – Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire

• 1823 – Augustin-Alexandre Dumont & Francisque Joseph Duret

• 1824 – Charles-Marie-Émile Seurre (dit Seurre jeune)

• 1826 – Louis Desprez

• 1827 – Jean-Louis Jaley & François Gaspard Aimé Lanno

• 1828 – Antoine Laurent Dantan (dit Dantan l'Aîné)

• 1829 – Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Debay (dit Debay fils)

• 1830 – Honoré-Jean-Aristide Husson

• 1832 – François Jouffroy & Jean-Louis Brian

• 1833 – Pierre-Charles Simart

• 1836 – Jean-Marie Bonnassieux & Auguste-Louis-Marie Ottin

• 1837 – Louis-Léopold Chambard

• 1838 – Nicolas-Victor Vilain

• 1839 – Théodore-Charles Gruyère

• 1841 – Georges Diebolt & Charles-Joseph Godde

• 1842 – Jules Cavelier

• 1843 – René-Ambroise Maréchal

• 1844 – Eugène-Louis Lequesne

• 1845 – Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugène Guillaume

• 1847 – Jacques-Léonard Maillet & Jean-Joseph Perraud

• 1848 – Gabriel-Jules Thomas

• 1849 – Louis Roguet

• 1850 – Charles-Alphonse-Achille Gumery

• 1851 – Gustave Adolphe Désiré Crauk

• 1852 – Alfred-Adolphe-Édouard Lepère

• 1854 – Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux

• 1855 – Henri-Michel-Antoine Chapu & Amédée Donatien Doublemard

• 1856 – Henri-Charles Maniglier

• 1857 – Joseph Tournois

• 1859 – Jean-Alexandre-Joseph Falguière & Louis-Léon Cugnot

• 1860 – Barthélemy Raymond

• 1861 – Justin-Chrysostome Sanson

• 1862 – Ernest-Eugène Hiolle

• 1863 – Charles-Arthur Bourgeois

• 1864 – Eugène Delaplanche & Jean-Baptiste Deschamps

• 1865 – Louis-Ernest Barrias

• 1868 – Marius-Jean-Antonin Mercié & Edme-Antony-Paul Noël (dit Tony Noël)

• 1869 – André-Joseph Allar

• 1870 – Jules-Isidore Lafrance

• 1871 – Laurent-Honoré Marqueste

• 1872 – Jules Coutan

• 1873 – Jean-Antoine-Marie Idrac

• 1874 – Jean Antoine Injalbert

• 1875 – Jean-Baptiste Hugues

• 1876 – Alfred-Désiré Lanson

• 1877 – Alphonse-Amédée Cordonnier

• 1878 – Edmond Grasset

• 1879 – Léon Fagel

• 1880 – Émile-Edmond Peynot

• 1881 – Jacques-Théodore-Dominique Labatut

• 1882 – Désiré-Maurice Ferrary

• 1883 – Henri-Édouard Lombard

• 1884 – Denys Puech

• 1885 – Joseph-Antoine Gardet

• 1886 – Paul-Gabriel Capellaro

• 1887 – Edgar-Henri Boutry

• 1888 – Louis-J. Convers

• 1889 – Jean-Charles Desvergnes

• 1890 – Paul-Jean-Baptiste Gasq

• 1891 – François-Léon Sicard

• 1892 – Hippolyte-Jules Lefebvre

• 1893 – Aimé-Jérémie-Delphin Octobre

• 1894 – Constant-Ambroise Roux

• 1895 – Hippolyte-Paul-René Roussel (dit Paul-Roussel)

• 1896 – Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Champeil

• 1897 – Victor Ségoffin

• 1898 – Camille Alaphilippe

• 1899 – André-César Vermare

• 1900 – Paul-Maximilien Landowski

20th century (sculpture)
• 1901 – Henri Bouchard

• 1902 – Alphonse Camille Terroir

• 1903 – Eugène Désiré Piron

• 1904 – Jean-Baptiste Larrivé

• 1905 – Lucien Brasseur

• 1906 – François-Maurice Roganeau

• 1907 – Not awarded

• 1908 – Marcel Gaumont and Henri Camille Crenier

• 1909 – Felix Benneteau-Desgrois

• 1910 – Louis Lejeune

• 1911 – Lucienne Heuvelmans (the first woman to receive the "First Grand Prize")

• 1912 – Siméon Charles Joseph Foucault

• 1913 – Armand Martial

• 1914 – Marc Leriche

• 1917 _ Stefano Zuech

• 1919 – Alfred Janniot and Raymond Delamarre jointly

• 1920 – Charles Georges Cassou

• 1921 – Élie-Jean Vézien

• 1922 – Jean Dominique Aubiné

• 1923 – Louis Bertola

• 1924 – André Augustin Sallé

• 1925 – Victor Jules Évariste Jonchère

• 1926 – René Letourneur

• 1927 – Raymond Couvègnes

• 1928 – Pierre Honoré

• 1929 – Félix Joffre

• 1930 – André Bizette-Lindet

• 1931 – Louis Leygue

• 1932 – Henri Lagriffoul

• 1933 – Ulysse Gémignani

• 1934 – Albert Bouquillon

• 1935 – Claude Bouscau

• 1936 – André Greck

• 1937 – Raymond Granville Barger?

• 1937 – Maurice de Bus

• 1938 – Adolphe Charlet

• 1939 – René Leleu

• 1942 – Maurice Gambier d'Hurigny

• 1943 – Lucien Fenaux

• 1944 – Francis Pellerin

• 1945 – Pierre Thézé

• 1946 – Gaston Watkin

• 1947 – Léon Bosramiez

• 1948 – Jacques Gotard

• 1949 – Jean Lorquin

• 1950 – Maurice Calka

• 1951 – Albert Féraud

• 1952 – Henri Derycke

• 1953 – Alain Métayer

• 1954 – Jacqueline Bechet-Ferber

• 1955 – Kenneth Ford

• 1956 – Claude Goutin

• 1957 – Cyrille Bartolini

• 1958 – Bruno Lebel

• 1959 – Georges Jeanclos

• 1960 – No award

• 1961 – Glynn Williams

• 1961 – Georges Maurice Dyens and André Barelier jointly

• 1962 – No award

• 1963 – Philippe Thill and Jacqueline Deyme jointly

• 1964 – Louis Lutz

• 1965 – No award

• 1966 – Joséphine Chevry

• 1967 – Michel Fargeot and Anne Houllevigue jointly

• 1968 – Maryse Voisin (last award)

First Prize Winners in the Engraving category

 * The engraving prize was created in 1804.

19th century (engraving)
• 1804 – Claude-Louis Masquelier (first award)

• 1805 – Nicolas-Pierre Tiolier

• 1806 – Théodore Richomme

• 1807 – Jacques-Édouard Gatteaux

• 1810 – Durand

• 1811 – Armand Corot

• 1812 – Benjamin-Eugène Bourgeois

• 1813 – Henri-François Brandt

• 1814 – François Forster

• 1815 –

• 1816 – Jacques Joseph Coiny

• 1817 – Joseph-Sylvestre Brun

• 1818 – André-Benoit Taurel

• 1819 – Ursin-Jules Vatinelle

• 1820 – Constantin-Louis-Antoine Lorichon

• 1823 –

• 1824 – Antoine-François Gelée

• 1826 – Pierre François Eugène Giraud

• 1827 – No award

• 1828 – Joseph-Victor Vibert

• 1830 – Achille-Louis Martinet

• 1831 – Eugène André Oudiné

• 1832 –

• 1834 – François Augustin Bridoux and Louis Adolphe Salmon

• 1835 – Jean-Baptiste Eugène Farochon

• 1836 – First prize not awarded

• 1838 – Charles-Victor Normand and Victor Florence Pollet, jointly

• 1839 – André Vauthier

• 1840 – Jean-Marie Saint-Eve

• 1842 – Louis-Désiré-Joseph Delemer

• 1843 – Louis Merley

• 1844 – Jean-Ernest Aubert

• 1846 – Joseph-Gabriel Tourny

• 1848 – Jacques-Martial Devaux; Louis-Félix Chabaud (postponed from 1847)

• 1850 – Gustave Bertinot

• 1852 – Charles-Alphonse-Paul Bellay

• 1854 – Joseph-Paul-Marius Soumy

• 1855 – Alphée Dubois

• 1856 – Claude-Ferdinand Gaillard

• 1860 – Jean Lagrange

• 1861 – Jules-Clément Chaplain

• 1866 – Charles-Jean-Marie Degeorge

• 1868 – Charles-Albert Waltner

• 1869 – Arthur Soldi

• 1870 – Achille Jacquet

• 1872 – Daniel Dupuis

• 1875 – Oscar Roty

• 1878 – Louis-Alexandre Bottée; Charles Théodore Deblois

• 1881 – Henri-Auguste-Jules Patey

• 1883 – William Barbotin

• 1886 – Jean Patricot

• 1887 – Frédéric-Charles-Victor de Vernon

• 1888 – Henri Le Riche

• 1890 – Charles Pillet

• 1892 – Hippolyte Lefebvre

• 1894 – Jean Antonin Delzers

• 1896 – Arthur Mayeur

• 1898 – Jean Coraboeuf

• 1899 – René Grégoire

• 1900 – Jean Antonin Delzers

20th century (engraving)
• 1902 – Lucien Pénat; Pierre-Victor Dautel

• 1903 – Eugène Piron

• 1904 – Louis Busiére

• 1905 – Julien-Louis Mérot

• 1906 – Henri-Lucien Cheffer; Raoul Serres

• 1908 –

• 1909 – Victor Hammer

• 1910 – Jules Piel

• 1912 –

• 1914 – André Lavrillier

• 1919 – Albert Decaris; Gaston Lavrillier

• 1920 – Pierre Matossy

• 1921 – Pierre Gandon

• 1922 – Raymond-Jacques Brechenmacher

• 1923 – Lucien Bazor

• 1927 – Frederick George Austin

• 1928 – Robert Cami ; Charles-Émile Pinson

• 1929 – Aleth Guzman-Nageotte

• 1930 – Jules Henri Lengrand

• 1931 – Arthur Henderson Hall

• 1932 – Louis Muller

• 1934 – Paul Lemagny

• 1935 – Albert de Jaeger

• 1936 –

• 1942 – Raymond Joly

• 1945 – Raymond Tschudin

• 1946 – Paul Guimezanes

• 1948 – Jean Delpech

• 1950 – Georges Arnulf

• 1952 – Claude Durrens

• 1957 – Émile Rousseau

• 1960 – Jean Asselbergs ; Pierre Béquet

• 1964 – Brigitte Courmes (the only woman to receive the "First Grand Prize" in engraving)

• 1966 – Jean-Pierre Velly

• 1968 – Michel Henri Viot (last award)

First Prize Winners in the Musical Composition category
The required composition was originally a cantata for solo voice and orchestra; later one male and female voice were specified; and later still three voices. Titles of the pieces have generally been restricted to "cantata", "lyric scene" or "dramatic scene".

19th century (musical composition)
• 1803 – Albert Androt

• 1804 – First Prize not awarded

• 1805 – Victor Dourlen ("first" First Grand Prize) and Ferdinand Gasse ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1806 – Guillaume Bouteiller

• 1807 – First Prize not awarded

• 1808 – Auguste Blondeau

• 1809 – Louis Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul

• 1810 – Désiré Beaulieu

• 1811 – Hippolyte André Jean Baptiste Chélard

• 1812 – Louis Joseph Ferdinand Hérold ("first" First Grand Prize) and Félix Cazot ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1813 – Auguste Mathieu Panseron

• 1814 – Pierre-Gaspard Roll

• 1815 – François Benoist

• 1816 – First Prize not awarded

• 1817 – Désiré-Alexandre Batton

• 1818 – First Prize not awarded

• 1819 – Fromental Halévy ("first" First Grand Prize) and Jean Massin aka Turina ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1820 – Aimé Ambroise Simon Leborne

• 1821 – Victor Rifaut

• 1822 – Joseph-Auguste Lebourgeois

• 1823 – Édouard Boilly ("first" First Grand Prize) and Louis Ermel ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1824 – Auguste Barbereau

• 1825 – Albert Guillon

• 1826 – Claude Paris

• 1827 – Jean-Baptiste Guiraud

• 1828 – Guillaume Despréaux

• 1829 – First Prize not awarded

• 1830 – Hector Berlioz ("first" First Grand Prize) and Alexandre Montfort ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1831 – Eugène-Prosper Prévost

• 1832 – Ambroise Thomas

• 1833 – Alphonse Thys (1807–1879)

• 1834 – Antoine Elwart

• 1835 – Ernest Boulanger (1815–1900)

• 1836 – Xavier Boisselot (1811–1893)

• 1837 – Louis Désiré Besozzi

• 1838 – Georges Bousquet (1818–1854)

• 1839 – Charles Gounod

• 1840 – François Bazin

• 1841 – Aimé Maillart

• 1842 – Alexis Roger (1814–1846)

• 1843 – First Prize not awarded

• 1844 – Victor Massé (1822–1884) ("first" First Grand Prize) and Renaud de Vilbac ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1845 – First Prize not awarded

• 1846 – Léon Gastinel

• 1847 – Louis Deffès

• 1848 – Jules Duprato

• 1849 – First Prize not awarded

• 1850 – Joseph Charlot

• 1851 – Jean-Charles-Alfred Deléhelle

• 1852 – Léonce Cohen

• 1853 – Charles Galibert

• 1854 – Adrien Barthe

• 1855 – Jean Conte

• 1856 – First Prize not awarded

• 1857 – Georges Bizet ("first" First Grand Prize) and Charles Colin (1832–1881) ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1858 – Samuel David

• 1859 – Ernest Guiraud

• 1860 – Émile Paladilhe

• 1861 – Théodore Dubois

• 1862 – Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray

• 1863 – Jules Massenet

• 1864 – Victor Sieg

• 1865 – Charles Lenepveu

• 1866 – Émile Louis Fortuné Pessard (1843–1917)

• 1867 – First prize not awarded

• 1868 – Alfred Pelletier-Rabuteau ("first" First Grand Prize) and Eugène Wintzweiller ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1869 – Antoine Taudou

• 1870 – Henri Maréchal ("first" First Grand Prize) and Charles-Édouard Lefebvre ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1871 – Gaston Serpette

• 1872 – Gaston Salvayre

• 1873 – Paul Puget

• 1874 – Léon Ehrhart

• 1875 – André Wormser

• 1876 – Paul Hillemacher ("first" First Grand Prize) and Paul Véronge de La Nux (1853–1928) ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1877 – First Prize not awarded

• 1878 – Clément Broutin ("first" First Grand Prize) and Samuel Rousseau (1853–1904) ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1879 – Georges Hüe

• 1880 – Lucien Hillemacher

• 1881 – First Prize not awarded

• 1882 – Georges Marty ("first" First Grand Prize) and Gabriel Pierné ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1883 – Paul Vidal

• 1884 – Claude Debussy

• 1885 – Xavier Leroux

• 1886 – Augustin Savard

• 1887 – Gustave Charpentier

• 1888 – Camille Erlanger

• 1889 – First prize not awarded

• 1890 – Gaston Carraud ("first" First Grand Prize) and Alfred Bachelet ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1891 – Charles Silver

• 1892 – First prize not awarded

• 1893 – André Bloch ("first" First Grand Prize) and Henri Büsser ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1894 – Henri Rabaud

• 1895 – Omer Letorey

• 1896 – Jules Mouquet

• 1897 – Max d'Ollone

• 1898 – First prize not awarded

• 1899 – Charles-Gaston Levadé ("first" First Grand Prize) and Edmond Malherbe ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1900 – Florent Schmitt

20th century (musical composition)
• 1901 – André Caplet

• 1902 – Aymé Kunc

• 1903 – Raoul Laparra

• 1904 – Raymond-Jean Pech

• 1905 – Victor Gallois ("first" First Grand Prize) and Marcel Samuel-Rousseau ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1906 – Louis Dumas

• 1907 – Maurice Le Boucher

• 1908 – André Gailhard

• 1909 – Jules Mazellier

• 1910 – Noël Gallon

• 1911 – Paul Paray

• 1912 – First prize not awarded

• 1913 – Lili Boulanger (the first woman to receive the "First Grand Prize" in music) and Claude Delvincourt jointly

• 1914 – Marcel Dupré

• 1915–1918 – WWI – No awards

• 1919 – Marc Delmas ("first" First Grand Prize) and Jacques Ibert ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1920 – Marguerite Canal

• 1921 – Jacques de La Presle

• 1922 – First prize not awarded

• 1923 – Jeanne Leleu ("first" First Grand Prize) and Francis Bousquet ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1924 – Robert Dussaut

• 1925 – Louis Fourestier

• 1926 – René Guillou

• 1927 – Edmond Gaujac

• 1928 – Raymond Loucheur

• 1929 – Elsa Barraine

• 1930 – Tony Aubin

• 1931 – Jacques Dupont aka Jacque-Dupont

• 1932 – Yvonne Desportes

• 1933 – Robert Planel

• 1934 – Eugène Bozza

• 1935 – René Challan

• 1936 – Marcel Stern

• 1937 – Victor Serventi

• 1938 – Henri Dutilleux

• 1939 – Pierre Maillard-Verger

• 1940 – No competition

• 1941 – No competition

• 1942 – Alfred Desenclos

• 1943 – Pierre Sancan

• 1944 – Raymond Gallois-Montbrun

• 1945 – Marcel Bitsch ("first" First Grand Prize) and Claude Pascal ("second" First Grand Prize)

• 1946 – Pierre Petit

• 1947 – Jean-Michel Damase

• 1948 – Odette Gartenlaub

• 1949 – Adrienne Clostre

• 1950 – Éveline Plicque-Andrani

• 1951 – Charles Chaynes

• 1952 – Alain Weber

• 1953 – Jacques Castérède

• 1954 – Roger Boutry

• 1955 – Pierre Max Dubois

• 1956 – Jean Aubain

• 1957 – Alain Bernaud

• 1958 – Noël Lancien

• 1959 – Alain Margoni

• 1960 – Gilles Boizard

• 1961 – Christian Manen

• 1962 – Alain Petitgirard

• 1963 – Yves Cornière

• 1964 – First prize not awarded

• 1965 – Thérèse Brenet and Lucie Robert-Diessel jointly

• 1966 – Monic Cecconi-Botella

• 1967 – Michel Rateau

• 1968 – Alain Louvier (last award)

 * List of all the winners of the Prix de Rome for musical composition

Prix de Rome (Netherlands)
A Prix de Rome was also established in the Kingdom of Holland by Lodewijk Napoleon to award young artists and architects. During the years 1807–1810 prize winners were sent to Paris and onwards to Rome for study. In 1817, after the Netherlands had gained its independence, King Willem I restarted the prize; though it took until 1823 before the new "Royal Academies" of Amsterdam and Antwerp could organize the juries. Suspended in 1851 it was reinstated in 1870 by William III of the Netherlands. Since then the winners have been selected by the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam under the main headings of architecture and the visual arts.

Prix de Rome (Belgium)
The Belgian Prix de Rome (Dutch: Prijs van Rome) is an award for young artists, created in 1832, following the example of the original French Prix de Rome. The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp organised the prize until 1920, when the national government took over. The first prize is also sometimes called the Grand Prix de Rome. There were distinct categories for architecture, painting, sculpture and music.

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title: Prix de Rome