George Strait

George Strait is not retiring. But at 59, the country superstar, who justifiably earned the sobriquet King George, thanks to 57 No. 1 singles, uses the last song of his 39th album to prepare his loyal subjects for his inevitable abdication. On the poignant "I'll Always Remember You," Strait speaks directly to his fans, reassuring them that when the time comes to say goodbye, the memories of their support will linger. On the flipside, Strait offers an utterly believable take on Jesse Winchester's "A Showman's Life," which laments the rigors of touring, especially its effects on family.

Country music star George Strait says he'll play in Kansas City next week to make up for a weekend concert he cut short because he was too sick to continue. Strait made it through two songs Saturday night at the Sprint Center before telling the crowd he couldn't keep going because he was ill. The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/z1YXxK) reports the singer's voice was labored and hoarse. Many of the 18,000 in attendance stood and gave him a rousing ovation after they got over their initial disappointment.

Country music star George Strait says he'll play in Kansas City next week to make up for a weekend concert he cut short because he was too sick to continue. Strait made it through two songs Saturday night at the Sprint Center before telling the crowd he couldn't keep going because he was ill. The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/z1YXxK) reports the singer's voice was labored and hoarse. Many of the 18,000 in attendance stood and gave him a rousing ovation after they got over their initial disappointment.

George Strait is not retiring. But at 59, the country superstar, who justifiably earned the sobriquet King George, thanks to 57 No. 1 singles, uses the last song of his 39th album to prepare his loyal subjects for his inevitable abdication. On the poignant "I'll Always Remember You," Strait speaks directly to his fans, reassuring them that when the time comes to say goodbye, the memories of their support will linger. On the flipside, Strait offers an utterly believable take on Jesse Winchester's "A Showman's Life," which laments the rigors of touring, especially its effects on family.

Country George Strait Twang MCA Nashville Essential "Twang" George Strait has been such a model of consistency that you’re almost shocked when an album this erratic comes along. Alas, he has become the Jimmy Carter of country music. He tries to be all things to all people, with mixed results. Strait kept hillbilly twang alive in Nashville when corporate types abandoned it, so it’s gratifying to see how the new “Twang’’ (Strait’s 38th album)

MANSFIELD - In the hour and 40 minutes that George Strait was on the Comcast Center stage on Saturday, he sang a grand total of 27 songs. The way the math works out, even if all of them had been country chart-toppers - which they were not - he still wouldn't have covered even half of his No. 1 hits. Too bad, everyone who hoped to hear "All My Ex's Live in Texas": such is the (ironic) disappointment you face when your man's successes wildly outpace acceptable concert length. In fact, it wasn't until the show was three-quarters over that the Academy of Country Music's newly minted Artist of the...

Alan Jackson and George Strait are country music's twin titans of traditionalism, but their new releases are as different as can be. Strait's "It Just Comes Natural" is, simply, more of the same. He has included more songs than usual and thrown in a few new wrinkles -- a bit of recitation on the opening track, "Give It Away"; a patina of Cajun on a cover of the Jo-El Sonnier hit "Come On, Joe" -- but this is essentially a typical, and typically fine, George Strait album. As always, the foundation is songwriting; Strait has an unerring knack for finding, and...

Friday Night Lights 9 p.m., DirecTV OK, I said I wouldn’t write about the show’s fifth and final season until it airs on NBC next year. I lied. It’s just too good to wait. As usual, “Friday Night Lights’’ is built on small moments and ordinary characters, and as usual it amounts to something large and gorgeously natural. No series has been better at turning the loss of major characters to its advantage, to serve its realism. High school students do leave home for college or the great wide world; “Friday Night Lights’’ doesn’t pretend otherwise.

Lee Ann Womack Call Me Crazy (MCA Nashville) ESSENTIAL "New Again" Lee Ann Womack is a woman of her word. The country star called her superb 2005 album "There's More Where That Came From" and makes good on that promise with "Call Me Crazy. " While "More" was a deliberate throwback to the vintage sounds of '60s and '70s Nashville, Womack retains some of that homespun charm on this quietly contemplative new album out today. Midlife themes permeate the album in ways both joyful and pensive.

It's curious that Kenny Chesney chose to call his 11th studio album "Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates," as he opted to employ only outside songwriters. The country superstar is a solid tunesmith who has made some of the best contributions to his previous releases. But he has cherry-picked wisely for his new CD, out today, finding different components of himself in the words and music of others. The prevailing Chesney persona - "fun Kenny," the tipsy, shirtless, shoeless, rum-gulping island party host - appears in the ode to the morning-after haze "Got a Little Crazy" and a cover of Dwight...

Friday Night Lights 9 p.m., DirecTV OK, I said I wouldn’t write about the show’s fifth and final season until it airs on NBC next year. I lied. It’s just too good to wait. As usual, “Friday Night Lights’’ is built on small moments and ordinary characters, and as usual it amounts to something large and gorgeously natural. No series has been better at turning the loss of major characters to its advantage, to serve its realism. High school students do leave home for college or the great wide world; “Friday Night Lights’’ doesn’t pretend otherwise.

Country George Strait Twang MCA Nashville Essential "Twang" George Strait has been such a model of consistency that you’re almost shocked when an album this erratic comes along. Alas, he has become the Jimmy Carter of country music. He tries to be all things to all people, with mixed results. Strait kept hillbilly twang alive in Nashville when corporate types abandoned it, so it’s gratifying to see how the new “Twang’’ (Strait’s 38th album)

MANSFIELD - In the hour and 40 minutes that George Strait was on the Comcast Center stage on Saturday, he sang a grand total of 27 songs. The way the math works out, even if all of them had been country chart-toppers - which they were not - he still wouldn't have covered even half of his No. 1 hits. Too bad, everyone who hoped to hear "All My Ex's Live in Texas": such is the (ironic) disappointment you face when your man's successes wildly outpace acceptable concert length. In fact, it wasn't until the show was three-quarters over that the Academy of Country Music's newly minted Artist of the...

Lee Ann Womack Call Me Crazy (MCA Nashville) ESSENTIAL "New Again" Lee Ann Womack is a woman of her word. The country star called her superb 2005 album "There's More Where That Came From" and makes good on that promise with "Call Me Crazy. " While "More" was a deliberate throwback to the vintage sounds of '60s and '70s Nashville, Womack retains some of that homespun charm on this quietly contemplative new album out today. Midlife themes permeate the album in ways both joyful and pensive.

It's curious that Kenny Chesney chose to call his 11th studio album "Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates," as he opted to employ only outside songwriters. The country superstar is a solid tunesmith who has made some of the best contributions to his previous releases. But he has cherry-picked wisely for his new CD, out today, finding different components of himself in the words and music of others. The prevailing Chesney persona - "fun Kenny," the tipsy, shirtless, shoeless, rum-gulping island party host - appears in the ode to the morning-after haze "Got a Little Crazy" and a cover of Dwight...

Alan Jackson and George Strait are country music's twin titans of traditionalism, but their new releases are as different as can be. Strait's "It Just Comes Natural" is, simply, more of the same. He has included more songs than usual and thrown in a few new wrinkles -- a bit of recitation on the opening track, "Give It Away"; a patina of Cajun on a cover of the Jo-El Sonnier hit "Come On, Joe" -- but this is essentially a typical, and typically fine, George Strait album. As always, the foundation is songwriting; Strait has an unerring knack for finding, and...

The easy, breezy Alan Jackson doesn't get topical on his new album, as he's done in the past. Nor does he perform a duet with Jimmy Buffett. But there's no doubt that he has another winner with today's release of "What I Do," which cements his role as a neotraditionalist who can do no wrong in the minds of working-class fans and Nashville power-brokers. The tally is this: a couple of drinking songs, a few breakup tunes, a start-over song, and an I-am-grateful coda of "To Do What I Do. " On the latter track, he sings of paying dues with "drunks who don't listen and crowds that don't care" but...

NASHVILLE — Hank Cochran, a consummate songwriter who composed a string of country hits including “Make the World Go Away’’ for Eddy Arnold, died yesterday. He was 74. Martha E. Moore, his publicist, said Mr. Cochran died at his home in Hendersonville north of Nashville. He had been in declining health in recent years and suffered an aortic aneurysm in March. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two years ago. He co-wrote the following number one hits: Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces’’; George Strait’s “Ocean Front Property’’; and “Set...

The easy, breezy Alan Jackson doesn't get topical on his new album, as he's done in the past. Nor does he perform a duet with Jimmy Buffett. But there's no doubt that he has another winner with today's release of "What I Do," which cements his role as a neotraditionalist who can do no wrong in the minds of working-class fans and Nashville power-brokers. The tally is this: a couple of drinking songs, a few breakup tunes, a start-over song, and an I-am-grateful coda of "To Do What I Do. " On the latter track, he sings of paying dues with "drunks who don't listen and crowds that don't care" but...