Who’s Real King of Country? George or Garth?

With Garth Brooks coming out of retirement and jumping back into the country world releasing new music over the last two years and George Strait’s recent announcement that he would be the first ever to perform at Dickies’ Arena in Fort Worth, the two of them became the subject of a huge debate among all of the Kiss Country staff.

Which one of them is truly the “King of Country?”  George Strait has worn the label for years and fans would say he’s earned it.  And he’s certainly got the resume one would think you’d have to have in order to stand taller than the rest when it comes to our beloved country music.

• His first single “Unwound” was released in 1981 and went all the way to #6 on the country charts
• He’s the first male country artist to have Top 10 country singles in each decade including the 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s and 2010’s
• He was the first (and still the only) country artist to have 50 Number One singles. (Merle Haggard is 2^nd with 44)
• His final concert on the “Cowboy Rides Away Tour” in Arlington, Texas was the most attended concert ever. With 104,000 people there to see him at AT&T Stadium, he crushed the former record of 87,500 previously held by the Rolling Stones
• With 23, he’s won more CMA Awards than any other artist

Those are some amazing stats, but we also had a faction who made an extremely good case that Garth Brooks unseated George years ago and should reign forever as King of Country.  They would argue that Garth has done more to put country on a world-wide platform than any other artist.  Just look at all that Garth has accomplished in his career.

• He’s 5^th on the list when it comes to most number one country singles with a total of 22
• His “Friends in Low Places” is heavily regarded as one of the greatest country songs of all time
• Selling a total of 148 million albums, he is the biggest selling country artist of all time
• Winning 6 times, he’s won the coveted CMA Entertainer of the Year more than any other artist
• Speaking of concerts, selling over 6 million tickets in his career, he is the RIAA’s top-selling solo artist in US history