The author of a 2014 Texas Monthly profile of King George explains why it was among the few stories in his career that made him cry while writing.
For me, the most reliable indicator that a piece I’m working on will resonate with readers is if I catch myself crying while I’m writing. That’s happened a number of times, like when I wrote about my dad’s funeral. And about my childhood best friend’s reunion with his wife and kids after a deployment in Iraq. And about an older Black man named Pug who took me under his wing when I worked at the Capitol during college. And, perhaps weirdly, it happened when I profiled George Strait.
The hook for the piece was Strait’s 2012 announcement that he would retire from touring after a seventeen-month, 48-show “Cowboy Rides Away” victory lap, culminating in a final performance in front of some 105,000 fans at AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, on June 7, 2014. Note, though, that the story’s emotional weight didn’t come from the prospect of bidding Strait adieu. History has shown that the retirements of old rock stars are about as “final” as those of old boxers—see Sugar Ray Leonard and the Eagles’ Hell Freezes Over tour. And Strait had already confirmed that he would continue to record and play occasional one-off shows. So no George Strait fan thought he would actually ride off and disappear.