“The great thing about George Strait,” rising star Dierks Bentley recently said, “is that he’s being doing it since the early ‘80s, but he still makes every sound check, which is more than a lot of guys below him can say. He brings who he is to each town, which is really a Texas dance hall singer. He can make the biggest arena feel like it’s a honky-tonk, trying to take that crazy energy to the biggest venue and making it feel as small as possible. He still enjoys touring after all the years".

“When I’m on stage doing a show, I still get nervous before I leave the bus,” says Strait. “And I’m nervous right up to the point where I break into the first song, and then that kinda leaves me and I just feed off the crowd after that. A lot of people say I look pretty laid-back on stage, and that may be true, but I’m pretty pumped up there. And having a great band inspires me, too – the guys continue to amaze me onstage.”

On IT JUST COMES NATURAL, Strait also continues to find inspiration in the country legends who preceded him. “I’ve been influenced by a lot of people in my career,” he says, “the swing music that Bob Wills was doing, songs that Merle and George Jones wrote and sang - it’s just great to listen to. I think it’s an art form that will always be with us. We may move a little bit away from it at times but it’s always going to come back.” In fact, George Jones figures into several songs on this album. “She Told Me So” is a song Jones recorded years ago (“I did it a little different - nobody can do it like George does”), while “Texas Cookin’” also draws on the attitude of the ol’ Possum. “That’s just a fun, fun song,” says Strait. “Lyrically it’s silly, but I was always drawn to a humorous song. I think I get that from George, too - he’d always have some humor in his records. “At the end of that one,” Strait continues, “I thought it would be good to get all of the guys in the room together and do all the chorus together, clapping our hands and singing. We had a great time in there and I think that comes across on the record.”

Not that IT JUST COMES NATURAL is all light-hearted. Much of the album focuses on the complexities, challenges, and joys of relationships between lovers. “That’s My Kind of Woman” tells of a man looking for a woman who shares his interests (“Good luck with that!” says Strait with a chuckle), while “A Better Rain” is “an abstract way of wishing a better life to a person you’ve split up with.” Strait is especially proud of “He Must Have Really Hurt You Bad,” a classic story about a woman done wrong told from a bartender’s point of view. “He can tell she’s been in a bad relationship,” says Strait, “and he ends up telling her at the end to stay at home because only bad things are going to happen to her in here.”

The timeless songs on IT JUST COMES NATURAL represent the kind of consistency, range, and power that have defined George Strait for all these years – the reasons he has now been given country music’s highest tribute, election to the Country Music Hall of Fame. “Being inducted is the highest honor that you can get in this business,” says Strait. “To have that happen while I still feel like I’m competitive, while I can still walk up and accept the honor without any help, is just amazing to me. I’ve been waking up in the morning and thinking about what it means - it’s hard to put into words because it’s so big. Maybe in the back of my mind I’ve had it as a goal, but you can’t ever expect anything like that.”

Despite all the Top Ten hits, all the sold-out arenas, all the trophies and honors, though, George Strait denies that the title of his new album is any way autobiographical. “I wouldn’t say that this all just comes natural to me,” he says. “It’s always an effort. I’m fortunate to be able to sing, but I don’t think I could be so bold as to say it comes natural.” - With all due respect, millions of George Strait fans probably disagree.