One of the worst tragedies that can befall anyone is the loss of a child. Sadly, that happened to George Strait. His daughter, Jenifer Strait, 13, was riding in a Ford Mustang on June 25, 1986 in San Marcos, Texas. She was with three of her teenage pals. Per savingcountrymusic,com, "At about 11:55 pm, [the driver, Gregory Wilson} Allen [age 18] turned sharply onto a side road, causing the car to skid and flip, and eventually land on its top in a ditch." The driver and two other passengers survived the accident. Jenifer was deceased at the scene.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The death of their beloved girl was ghastly for Strait and his wife, Norma. (They also have a son.) It understandably affected him deeply. Despite his blossoming career, Strait virtually stopped granting interviews. He could not bear the thought of being asked about Jenifer's death. Strait, now 72, made an unusual exception, however, giving an interview in 2017 to The New Yorker.
Per the outlet via The New Yorker, he said, "I just didn't feel like talking about it, so I quit...I did want to keep singing, absolutely. But I was at the point where I'm [like], 'Alright, if this is going to cost me my career, then so be it, but it's the only way I'm going to be able to cope with it.' It just kind of turned out the way it did. It wasn't an intentional thing."
George Strait Did Two Sentimental Songs That Paid Tribute To His Late Daughter Jenifer
Although George Strait nixed doing interviews with reporters after the crash that took his daughter's life, he still kept on singing. Two tender songs he sang that are thought to honor Jenifer are "Baby Blue" and "You'll Be There." The former was written by Aaron Barker and dropped in 1988. It went all the way to number one. The other song was penned by Cory Mayo and released in 2005.
'Baby Blue' Will Bring A Tear To Your Eye
Per countryuniverse.net, "'Baby Blue' is a song about the love of your life brightening up your world and then going away for good...What a tribute it is to this man's talent and character that he could find a way to turn such darkness into a little bit of light."
'You'll Be There' Is Another Painfully Emotional Song
Per American Songwriter, "George Strait's tragic past gives Cory Mayo's lyrics to 'You'll Be There' a whole meaning as a grieving father reaching out to his daughter in the afterlife.
If you're up there watching me, would you talk to God?
Tell him I might need a hand to see you both someday"
According to the outlet via USA Today 20 years ago, Strait said, ""I'm a religious person. I honestly believe we will see each other in heaven someday. I wanted to do the song badly. The writer, Cory Mayo, held that song out because he knew I wanted to do it, and he waited until I had the chance. It was kind of him to do that."
