Released when George Strait was at the relatively advanced age of 29, Strait Country is a debut delivered with all the class and confidence of a seasoned veteran — which in many ways he was. Strait spent the ‘70s paying his dues on the Texas honky-tonk circuit, honing a style that holds Merle Haggard and George Jones in high regard but never sounds like an oldies show. Almost every song on Strait Country was written or co-written by Dean Dillon, who would go on to contribute to every Strait album over the next 25 years. Theirs is one of the great songwriter-performer partnerships in country music history, and Strait’s steadfast loyalty to Dillon speaks to both his good taste and his down-to-earth ethos — two qualities that were firmly established on his debut. Though few could have predicted his success in 1981, it is easily to look back on Strait Country and see all the elements — the charm, the vocal chops, the delicate balance between homegrown grit and pop sophistication — that would make Strait one of country’s most enduring icons in the years to come.