Erv Woolsey and George Strait
Best Artist-Manager Partnership in Nashville: Erv Woolsey and George Strait
Before Erv Woolsey became George Strait’s manager, the two Texans were friends. And to their credit, they were still the closest of friends with the most enduring of partnerships when Woolsey passed away in March 2024. Woolsey first saw Strait perform in a Texas dance hall in 1975, kept his eye on him, and in 1981, while working in promotion at MCA Records, convinced the label to sign him. The singer’s first record Unwound was a hit, and Strait was on his way. Woolsey was too: He left the label in 1983 to become Strait’s manager, opening the Erv Woolsey Agency in a modest Music Row building at the corner of 18th and Grand. The two signed one contract that expired in the ’80s and never signed another. Woolsey wasn’t brash or flashy, but he guided Strait’s impeccable career through dozens of No. 1 singles, multiplatinum albums, awards and sold-out stadiums, right into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In July, the Erv Woolsey Company ceased operations. Strait continues recording and touring, but says Woolsey will forever be his only manager.
