CMT Blog: Archive

She has been singing with George Strait for nine years, but background singer Marty Slayton is still the rookie. "The story goes that the Ace in the Hole band hired George Strait to be their singer, then he got a record deal," Slayton told me. And that was some 25 years ago. So while the musicians who back Strait have been with him forever, Slayton's one of the newest ones on the road.

And it seems like it would be a gig that never gets old. Slayton says she loves her job. Her favorite part? "I get to stand behind George and watch people watch him. The little kids, the old ladies, everyone," she said. "And they all know every word." Strait's a good boss, too. "He's definitely a star, but not in an intimidating way. He's accessible, he's friendly, he's nice. But he's also the CEO of his whole deal."

Before she found Strait, Slayton was on the road signing with Reba McEntire. "But then when Reba left for Broadway and her TV show out in L.A., I was out of a gig," she remembers. So she reluctantly interviewed for a job in pharmaceutical sales, got an offer and accepted it. But that very same day, she got the call from Strait's people about the singing gig. "I figured it was either God's way of telling me to come back to singing or the devil dragging me back into it," she joked. Then on one of her first days on the job, someone handed her Strait's set list and told her to learn the songs. "I said 'I've been singing these all my life'."

Just like everyone else, Slayton has her own list of favorite Strait songs. "I love singing 'Troubadour' but also older ones like 'Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her,' 'Carrying Your Love With Me' and 'True.'"