During the 2000's Decade, George's peers continued to award his music and talent....here are some highlights from the ACM's and CMA's....
In 2006, George was inducted into the CMA Hall of Fame....below shows him during his "thank you" speech after he sang "Give it Away"....the following year, a separate ceremony was held in Nashville for the "official" induction....
At the 2007 ACM's, "Give it Away" won the Song of the Year for George and the songwriters...above a shot of George on stage holding his award...and below, a fun picture of George and Bill Anderson greeting each other just moments prior to being handed their trophies.....
Later that same night at the 2007 ACM's, George's name was called again...this time for Single of the Year for "Give it Away".....above, George and his co-producer, Tony Brown, climbed the steps to the stage to collect their awards.....below a magnificent full-body shot of Mr. Strait....just look at that handsome singing cowboy...his smile shows how delighted he was at winning this much-deserved award for that song....and that casual open-leg stance along with that black-on-black outfit....seldom has he looked better......ohhhh Lordy!!!
At the 2007 CMA's, "Give it Away" again won "Song of the Year".....above George posed with the songwriters in the pressroom.....
Also in 2007, George's album "It Just Comes Natural" was voted Album of the Year by the CMA....above and below George chats with reporters, all the while proudly holding his Award...he said during the telecast that of all the awards he was nominated for that night, Album was the one he "really wanted to walk up there for"..... 22 years after he won his first CMA Album Award for "Fort Worth", his name was called again for the same award....how remarkable !!!
The first award at the 2008 CMA's was presented by Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman....it was Single of the Year for "I Saw God Today"....George thanked his fans, radio and the songwriters "for the beautiful song".....it appeared to some of us fans watching on tv that he was genuinely surprised when his name was called....
Later that night, and for the 2nd year in a row, the CMA awarded George Strait the Album of the Year...this time for "Troubadour".....above and below, he shows that pretty smile as he accepts his 5th overall Album trophy from the CMA....Tony Brown stands by proudly as George gives thanks to the audience.....he also remembered his fans saying "I've really got the greatest fans!"..... It should also be noted, that at the 2009 Grammys, "Troubadour" was also chosen Country Album of the Year, but, unfortunately, George didn't attend those ceremonies, so there are no photos of him receiving his first-ever and long overdue Grammy Award.....
In 2009, the ACM chose George Strait as its "Artist of the Decade"....he was given this prestigious career award during a 2-hour CBS television special in which he was honored by his peers who sang many of his hit songs....Garth Brooks presented George the Decade Award....
