Real Boots, Real Dirt: Three Country Stars Who Were Cowboys First

In a genre that has always romanticized the cowboy life, it is worth stopping to recognize the artists who actually lived it. Not the hat and the belt buckle as a fashion statement, but the early mornings, the livestock, the rodeo arena, and the dirt. George Strait, Cody Johnson, and Wade Forster did not just write cowboy songs. They earned the right to sing them.

George Strait: The King Was Always a Cowboy

George Strait is the real-deal Texas cowboy, a man who helped run his family's cattle ranch in Big Wells and has always kept that identity at the center of everything he does. He did not discover rodeo culture as a star. He was born into it. Strait is an avid team roper who has competed alongside his son Bubba, and has said that winning a roping with his son is his greatest personal roping accomplishment. "Winning with my son, Bubba. Fortunately, he shares this passion. It's the greatest feeling in the world," he said.

And then there is his relationship with Rodeo Houston, which is unlike anything else in country music history. Strait made his 31st appearance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2022, drawing 79,452 fans to NRG Stadium, bringing his total Houston Rodeo audience to nearly 1.8 million fans. In 2019, he set the all-time NRG Stadium attendance record with 80,108 fans for a concert-only performance, breaking his own previous record. Nobody has built a relationship with a rodeo crowd like George Strait, because nobody else in country music is quite so genuinely one of them. Read his full bio.

Cody Johnson: He Bled for the Rodeo Before He Ever Sang About It

Cody Johnson did not grow up dreaming of Nashville. He grew up dreaming of the NFR. At fifteen years old, Johnson rode his first bull and soon decided to pursue it professionally, spending years competing on the rodeo circuit before the sport took its toll. During that time, he broke several bones, including his ankle, his clavicle, and multiple ribs.

When he finally walked away from bull riding, it felt like a divorce. When his publisher encouraged him to write about it, Johnson resisted, saying, "No one's going to want to hear a song about me not rodeoing." But he finally wrote it, and he soon found out just how many people could relate to that feeling. "Dear Rodeo" became his breakthrough, and the rest of his story is now the subject of a documentary film. 

Today, Johnson has instilled a ranch-hand mindset in his two daughters, teaching them to feed the cows and take care of their animals as they balance their homeschooling responsibilities. The cowboy never left. He just traded the arena for the stage. Learn more about Cody’s past here.

Wade Forster: The Aussie Outback Sent Its Best

Wade Forster's story starts about as far from Nashville as you can get. Born and raised on a remote cattle station deep in the Queensland outback, Forster spent years on the professional rodeo circuit, chasing buckles and riding hard, living the kind of stories most country singers only write about. He would often sing along to songs while travelling around the rodeo circuit and was praised for having a good voice but did not pursue music until later in his life. In 2017, he moved to Mount Isa for a refrigeration job and bought his first guitar off Facebook Marketplace for fifty dollars.

A rough online cover of Tyler Childers' "Oneida" in 2021 changed everything, leading him to record his debut album of raw songs about depression, loss, love, and the realities of rural life. In January 2024, Forster became the 44th winner of Toyota Star Maker, Australia's most prestigious country music competition. His American momentum has been equally remarkable. 

After a breakthrough co-headline tour in early 2025 that included sold-out shows at Cain's Ballroom and Gruene Hall, he launched his first-ever North American headline tour, with over 50 million global streams to his name, all as an independent artist. And it bears mentioning that when Cody Johnson told the media he wanted to win a rodeo buckle in Australia, Forster reached out on social media and invited him along. Days later, the two were riding side by side in team roping and steer wrestling at a Townsville rodeo. Cowboys recognize cowboys. Get Wade’s full story.

Three backgrounds, one common thread. You cannot fake what these three have. The dirt, the rope burns, and the broken bones got there first.