George Jones
| George Jones | |
|---|---|
 Jones performing at Harrah's Metropolis in Metropolis, Illinois in June 2002
| |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | George Glenn Jones |
| Also known as | The Possum No Show Jones |
| Born | September 12 1931 (age 92) |
| Origin | Saratoga, Texas, USA |
| Genre(s) | Country Music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-Songwriter Guitarist |
| Instrument(s) | Acoustic Guitar Piano [citation needed] Vocals |
| Years active | 1954 – Present |
| Label(s) | Starday (1954 - 1958) Mercury (1958 - 1962) United Artists (1962 - 1965) Musicor (1965 - 1971) Epic (1971 - 1991) MCA Nashville (1991 - 1999) Asylum (1999 - 2001) Bandit (2001 - Present) |
| Website | GeorgeJones.com |
| Members | |
| Country Music Hall of Fame Grand Ole Opry | |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Acoustic Guitar | |
George Glenn Jones (born September 12, 1931 in Saratoga, Texas), is an award-winning American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette. Frequently been referred to as "the greatest living country singer," Jones' superb vocal control and expressiveness influenced many top singers of the current general of male country stars.
Jones has had 14 number-one hit singles, including "He Stopped Loving Her Today," "White Lightning," and "She Thinks I Still Care" as well as many top-selling duets, especially with his former wife, the late Tammy Wynette. However, through much of his long career, Jones made headlines as much for tales of his drinking and temper as for his music.
Jone was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992, and in 2002 he received the U.S. National Medal of Arts.
Early life
George Jones was born in Saratoga, Texas and raised in nearby Vidor, a few miles outside of Beaumont along with his brother and five sisters. Another sister died young before George was born. He was exposed to music from an early age through his parents' record collection and listening to the gospel music he heard in church. When George was seven, the Jones family bought a radio, which introduced George to the country music that would become his life. The gift of a guitar when Jones was a boy of nine soon saw him playing for tips on the streets of Beaumont.
Jones left home at 16 and headed for Jasper, Texas where he found work singing and playing on a local radio station, later moving to KRIC in Beaumont. While there he briefly met his idol and greatest music influence, Hank Williams, who had stopped by the station to promote a performance.
Before he was out of his teens, Jones married his first wife, Dorothy, but their union lasted less than a year. Jones then joined the United States Marine Corps and gained more musical experience singing in bars near his base in California.
Career
After leaving the Marines, Jones married his second wife, Shirley Ann Corley in 1954. He signed with Starday records and had his first hit in 1955: "Why Baby Why." The song, which he had co-written, reached number four on the Billboard country chart. Jones reached number three in 1956 with "Just One More." Moving to the Mercury label, he recorded several rockabilly sides using the moniker "Thumper Jones."
Jones' career really took in 1959 when his "White Lightning," an up-tempo number about drinking moonshine whiskey, reached number one. Two more number one hits followed in 1961 with "Tender Years" and "She Thinks I Still Care." These ballads displayed Jones' unique ability of tonal control to produce an unrivaled expressiveness and established him as one of the top talents of the era.
He continued to score hits consistently after switching to Musicor label, often the Top Ten in the mid and late 60s. In 1967 his ballad "Walk Through This World With Me" was yet another number one hit. He also had a number of hit duets singles on various label Melba Montgomery and several other artists.
After divorcing in 1968, Jones married Tammy Wynette the following year, a partnership that let to many hit duets and made the couple the unquestioned king and queen of country music and a major attraction when they performed together live.
Jones followed Wynette to Epic Records, where producer Billy Sherrill further perfected his sound. Their duet "Take Me" reached number nine in 1972. They followed this with the smash hit "We're Gonna Hold On" in 1973, reaching number one together for the first time.
Jones had two more number one hit singles on his own in 1974: "The Grand Tour" and "The Door." Jones' marriage to Wynette ended in 1975, but their singing partnership continued to score successes. Their ironic duet "Golden Ring," detailing several poignant chapters in a failed young marriage, reached number one in 1976. The duo's classic love song, "Near You" did likewise in 1977, despite the paradox of the now divorced couple pledging their undying love in song. Several Jones-Wynette albums of this period were also huge successes.
In 1980, Jones released "He Stopped Loving Her Today," one of his biggest hits. It was honored as best record of the year by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music, as well as a Grammy for best male country vocal performance. Jones was named CMA male vocalist of the year in 1980 and 1981.
In 1983, Jones married Nancy Sepulveda, who soon became his manager. In the 80s and 90s Jones' reputation as a superb duet artist found him recording with such diverse singers as James Taylor, Johnny Paycheck (formerly Jones' singer partner in the "Jones Boys"), Ray Charles, Merle Haggard, Brenda Lee, Shelby Lynne, Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, and Garth Brooks. The last three of these and many others of the younger generation of male country stars cited Jones as a major influence on their singing styles.
Jones moved to MCA Records in 1991, and in 1992 he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame. He soon produced a surprisingly successful video, "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair," as well as a the hit album HighTech Redneck. His next offering was an acoustic album, The Bradley Barn Sessions, which also won critical acclaim, followed by a reunion album with Wynette entitled One, which proved that the couple could still both sing well as a couple and sell records together.
Jones career slowed in the later 90s as his drinking and carousing caused hims to miss many performances and solidified his reputation as "No Show Jones." However, his ' 1996 autobiography, I Lived to Tell It All, reached number six on the New York Times bestseller list. After a serious car crash in 1999, Jones released a reflective ballad entitled "Choices," which, while not a major hit, charted well earned him another Grammy.
Jones has continued to be active in new millennium, making numerous television appearance and recording the album The Rock: Stone Cold Country in 2001. In 2003 he released The Gospel Collection His Hits I Missed...And One I Didn't (2005) featured songs Jones declined to record, but which became hits for the other artists, plus his own mega-hit "He Stopped Loving Her Today". In 2006, Jones and Merle Haggard collaborated on Kickin' Out the Footlights ... Again.
Recent life
He currently lives in Franklin, Tennessee with his wife, Nancy Jones. Also in a separate house on his property live Sherry Hohimer, his stepdaughter. Sherry's husband, Kirk, helps George Jones with concert setup. Sherry and Kirk's children Carlos and Breann Hohimer and his other step daughter Adina and her son Cameron Estes who had lived on the property (George's grandchildren) live on his property.
Despite being in his seventies, Jones is still an active recording artist and still tours extensively on the North American continent as well as overseas. His other projects include the George Jones "University" which is a twice-yearly training program for those wishing to learn about a career in the music business. He also endorses his own brand of sausages which are produced for him by Williams Sausage Company of Tennessee using Jones's own recipe. The product boxes feature stories from Jones's colorful life. Other food products he has brought out include a range of barbecue sauces.
Jones and wife Nancy run a diner in Enterprise, Alabama, which is decorated with memorabilia from Jones's long career in the country-music business.
Jones is also a partner in Bandit Records, an independent record company set up by Jones and others when Jones's former record company Asylum Records was closed down by its owners AOL Time Warner. Bandit Records philosophy is to "create unique, interesting projects with artistic integrity that can operate free from the constraints of the corporate music industry."
In 2006, he was treated in hospital for pneumonia but made a full recovery and continued with his prolific touring schedule.
2008 marks Jones's fifty-fifth year recording country music (1954-2008, inclusive, according to all major biographies), while he first hit the charts in 1955, according to GeorgeJones.com. Additionally, it is his thirty-ninth (1969-2008, inclusive) as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Marriages
Jones was married twice before he turned 24. His first marriage was to Dorothy Bonvillion in 1950, a marriage that lasted but a year. They had one daughter, Susan. In 1954, Jones married Shirley Ann Corley. This marriage lasted until 1968 and they had two sons, Jeffrey and Brian. He next married fellow country musician Tammy Wynette in 1969. They were married until 1975 and had one daughter, Georgette. Georgette Jones, now a published country singer in her own right, has performed on stage with her famous father. He married his current wife, Nancy Sepulveda, on March 4, 1983 in Woodville, TX. Sepulveda also became his manager. Jones credits Nancy for rescuing him from drinking, as well as cocaine consumption. The couple currently live in Enterprise, Alabama.
Substance Abuse
Jones' alcohol consumption was legendary. For a great part of his life he woke up to a screwdriver and spent the rest of the day drinking bourbon. He was given the nickname "No-Show Jones" as a result of his missing many performances during his days of drug abuse.
In the 1970s, Jones was introduced to cocaine by a manager before a show in which he was too tired to perform. This accelerated his already unpredictable actions. His self-destructive bent brought him close to death and to the inside of a psychiatric hospital in Alabama at the end of the decade. Although somewhat celebrated by some of his fans as the hard-drinkin', fast-livin' spiritual-son of his idol, Hank Williams, he missed so many booked engagements that he became known as "No-Show Jones." He was often broke and later admitted that friends Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash came to his aid financially during this period.
Legacy
Although not the first to do so, George Jones' musical career was a model for the driven, hard drinking, carousing, hard playing, country musician whose personal life often interferred with his career plans. Despite his lifestyle frequently derailing his play dates, Jones' gift in embodying a song's mood has been a key influence on numerous country artists.
Recognition for Jones includes, inclusion in the Walkway of Stars at the Country Music Hall Of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame, 1970; Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "He Stopped Loving Her Today," 1980; induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, 1992; the Pioneer Award from the Academy of Country Music, 1993; Grammy Hall of Fame Award, 1998; U.S. National Medal of Arts for the National Endowment of the Arts, 2002; Ranked number 3 of the 40 Greatest Men of Country Music, CMT, 2003; and Kennedy Center Honors, Washington, D.C., 2008.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | US Country | Billboard 200 | Label | RIAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Grand Ole Opry's New Star | - | - | Starday | - |
| 1958 | Hillbilly Hit Parade | - | - | - | |
| 1958 | Long Live King George | - | - | - | |
| 1959 | Country Church Time | - | - | Mercury | - |
| 1959 | White Lightning and Other Favorites | - | - | - | |
| 1960 | George Jones Salutes Hank Williams | - | - | - | |
| 1962 | Songs from the Heart | - | - | - | |
| 1962 | Sings Country and Western Hits | - | - | - | |
| 1962 | George Jones Sings Bob Wills | - | - | United Artists | - |
| 1962 | Homecoming in Heaven | - | - | - | |
| 1962 | My Favorites of Hank Williams | - | - | - | |
| 1963 | I Wish Tonight Would Never End | - | - | - | |
| 1963 | What's in Our Hearts (with Melba Montgomery) | 3 | - | - | |
| 1964 | A King & Two Queens (with Melba Montgomery and Judy Lynn) | - | - | - | |
| 1964 | Bluegrass Hootenanny (with Melba Montgomery) | 12 | - | - | |
| 1964 | George Jones Sings Like The Dickens! | 6 | - | - | |
| 1965 | Famous Country Duets (with Gene Pitney and Melba Montgomery) |
- | - | Musicor | - |
| 1965 | George Jones and Gene Pitney: For the First Time! Two Great Singers (with Gene Pitney) |
3 | 141 | - | |
| 1965 | George Jones and Gene Pitney (Recorded in Nashville!) (with Gene Pitney) | - | - | - | |
| 1965 | Mr. Country & Western Music | 13 | - | - | |
| 1965 | New Country Hits | 5 | - | - | |
| 1965 | Old Brush Arbors | - | - | - | |
| 1966 | Country Heart | - | - | - | |
| 1966 | I'm a People | 1 | - | - | |
| 1966 | It's Country Time Again! (with Gene Pitney) | 17 | - | - | |
| 1966 | Love Bug | 7 | - | - | |
| 1966 | We Found Heaven Right Here on Earth at "4033" | 3 | - | - | |
| 1967 | Hits by George | 9 | - | - | |
| 1967 | Walk Through This World with Me | 2 | - | - | |
| 1968 | If My Heart Had Windows | 12 | - | - | |
| 1968 | Sings the Songs of Dallas Frazier | 14 | - | - | |
| 1969 | I'll Share My World with You | 5 | 185 | - | |
| 1969 | Where Grass Won't Grow | 15 | - | - | |
| 1970 | Will You Visit Me on Sunday? | 44 | - | - | |
| 1971 | George Jones with Love | 9 | - | - | |
| 1971 | George Jones Sings the Great Songs of Leon Payne | 26 | - | - | |
| 1971 | We Go Together (with Tammy Wynette) | 3 | 169 | Epic | - |
| 1972 | A Picture of Me (Without You) | 3 | - | - | |
| 1972 | George Jones (We Can Make It) | 10 | - | - | |
| 1972 | Me and the First Lady (with Tammy Wynette) | 6 | - | - | |
| 1972 | We Love to Sing About Jesus (with Tammy Wynette) | 38 | - | - | |
| 1973 | Let's Build a World Together (with Tammy Wynette) | 12 | - | - | |
| 1973 | Nothing Ever Hurt Me (Half as Bad as Losing You) | 12 | - | - | |
| 1973 | We're Gonna Hold On (with Tammy Wynette) | 3 | - | - | |
| 1974 | In a Gospel Way | 42 | - | - | |
| 1974 | The Grand Tour | 11 | - | - | |
| 1975 | George & Tammy & Tina (with Tammy Wynette) | 37 | - | - | |
| 1975 | Memories of Us | 43 | - | - | |
| 1976 | Alone Again | 9 | - | - | |
| 1976 | Golden Ring (with Tammy Wynette) | 1 | - | - | |
| 1976 | The Battle | 36 | - | - | |
| 1978 | Bartender's Blues | 34 | - | - | |
| 1979 | My Very Special Guests (with various artists) | 38 | - | - | |
| 1980 | Double Trouble (with Johnny Paycheck) | 45 | - | - | |
| 1980 | I Am What I Am | 7 | 132 | Platinum | |
| 1981 | Together Again (with Tammy Wynette) | 26 | - | - | |
| 1981 | Still the Same Ole Me | 3 | 115 | Gold | |
| 1982 | A Taste of Yesterday's Wine (with Merle Haggard) | - | 123 | - | |
| 1982 | Anniversary - 10 Years Of Hits | 16 | - | Gold | |
| 1983 | Jones Country | 27 | - | - | |
| 1983 | Shine On | 7 | - | - | |
| 1984 | You've Still Got a Place in My Heart | 17 | - | - | |
| 1984 | Ladies' Choice | 25 | - | - | |
| 1984 | By Request | 33 | - | - | |
| 1984 | First Time Live | 45 | - | - | |
| 1985 | Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes? | 6 | - | - | |
| 1986 | Wine Colored Roses | 5 | - | Gold | |
| 1987 | Too Wild Too Long | 14 | - | - | |
| 1987 | Super Hits | 26 | - | 2× Multi-Platinum | |
| 1989 | One Woman Man | 13 | - | - | |
| 1990 | You Oughta Be Here with Me | 35 | - | - | |
| 1991 | Friends in High Places | 72 | - | - | |
| 1991 | And Along Came Jones | 22 | 148 | MCA | - |
| 1992 | Walls Can Fall | 24 | 77 | Gold | |
| 1993 | High Tech Redneck | 30 | 124 | Gold | |
| 1993 | Super Hits, Volume 2 | - | - | Epic | - |
| 1994 | Bradley Barn Sessions (with various artists) | 23 | 142 | MCA | - |
| 1995 | George and Tammy Super Hits (with Tammy Wynette) | - | - | Epic | Gold |
| 1995 | One (with Tammy Wynette) | 12 | 117 | MCA | - |
| 1996 | I Lived to Tell It All | 26 | 171 | - | |
| 1998 | It Don't Get Any Better Than This | 37 | - | - | |
| 1998 | 16 Biggest Hits | 50 | - | Epic | Gold |
| 1999 | Cold Hard Truth | 5 | 53 | Asylum | Gold |
| 1999 | Live With the Possum | 72 | - | - | |
| 2001 | The Rock: Stone Cold Country 2001 | 5 | 65 | Bandit | - |
| 2003 | The Gospel Collection | 19 | 131 | - | |
| 2004 | 50 Years Of Hits | 20 | 118 | Gold | |
| 2005 | Hits I Missed...And One I Didn't | 13 | 79 | - | |
| 2006 | God's Country: George Jones and Friends (with various artists) | 58 | - | Category 5 | - |
| 2006 | Kicking Out the Footlights...Again (with Merle Haggard) | 25 | 119 | Bandit | - |
| 2008 | Burn Your Playhouse Down - The Unreleased Duets | 15 | 79 | - |
Fourteen number-1 U.S. Country Hits
- "White Lightning" (1959)
- "Tender Years" (1961)
- "She Thinks I Still Care" (1962)
- "Walk Through This World With Me" (1967)
- "We're Gonna Hold On" (with Tammy Wynette) (1973)
- "The Grand Tour" (1974)
- "The Door" (1975)
- "Golden Ring" (with Tammy Wynette) (1976)
- "Near You" (with Tammy Wynette) (1977)
- "He Stopped Loving Her Today" (1980)
- "(I Was Country) When Country Wasn't Cool" (with Barbara Mandrell) (1981)
- "Still Doin' Time" (1981)
- "Yesterday's Wine" (with Merle Haggard) (1982)
- "I Always Get Lucky With You" (1983)
Further reading
- Dawidoff, Nicholas. In The Country of Country: A Journey to the Roots of American Music. New York: Vintage Books, 1998, ISBN 0-375-70082-X
- Jones, George, with Carter, Tom. I Lived to Tell it All. New York: Dell Publishing, 1997, ISBN 0-440-22373-3
- Malone, Bill C. Country Music U.S.A.. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1985, ISBN 0-292-71096-8
External links
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