Promotional photo of George Strait
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

George Strait's '80s Performance of 'Down & Out' is a Flashback to His Early Days

Grab a cold glass of water and adjust your thermostats. We're about to show you a throwback video of a young George Strait and, well, good God does the "Unwound" and "Ocean Front Property" singer look good. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I didn't think Strait was handsome before, but it's still sort of jarring to see young George Strait.

 

This clip is from "Nashville on the Road," which ran from 1975 through 1983 and taped at amusement parks around the country. Boasting 145 episodes, the 8-year run was co-hosted by Jim Ed Brown and Jerry Clower. It's likely this was from a 1982 episode, meaning fresh-faced George Strait would've just come off those beer joint stages looking like a snack, as the kids put it these days.

So yeah, when I saw young George Strait singing the Dean Dillon and Frank Dycus-penned "Down and Out" in this video I had to do an extended double take and then go check the thermostat to see why it suddenly felt so hot in my apartment (the temperature was fine, as it turns out). Then I went over to the chair and just sat down for a while.

I should've guessed that a Texas legend, King of Country, CMA Entertainer of the Year and American icon was a hunk in his younger days if I'm being honest. You don't sing "Here for a Good Time" and "Easy Come, Easy Go" and not look like that. Long story short, there's a reason — an extremely valid reason — why every Texas aunt has a crush on the country music star. The voice. The look. The talent. The smile (oh my God, the smile). This man has it all. He is the definition of swoon and, again, I apologize, Aunt Sarah. I get it now. I really, really do.

Someone stop me before I go and start Googling other country singers in their youth, or "Young Burt Reynolds" or something. This could really become a problem. Either way, I'm definitely going to be looking up more George Strait music videos.

READ MORE: George Strait Then & Now: From Fresh-Faced Cowboy to the King of Country