The Ace in the Hole Band is the backup band for country music performer George Strait, who was the band's lead singer before beginning his solo career in the early 1980s. The band formed at San Marcos, Texas in the 1970s, and recorded several singles for "D Records" including the Strait-penned "I Just Can't Go On Dying Like This" and "I Don't Want To Talk It Over Anymore". After Strait attained status as the "King of Country", the group released an album of its own in 1995 featuring vocals from Darrell McCall and Mel Tillis.
The band, originally known as "Stoney Ridge", performs such styles of traditional country music as honky-tonk and western swing and were influenced by such performers as Bob Wills, Johnny Bush, and The Strangers. Contemporaries of the band include Asleep at the Wheel and Jerry Jeff Walker.