George Glenn Jones was born in Saratoga, in East Texas. As a kid, he sang for tips on the streets of nearby Beaumont. By age 24, he had been married twice, served in the Marines and was a veteran of the Texas honky tonk circuit. On a recording session in 1955 for Starday Records, producer Pappy Dailey suggested he quite singing like his idols, Lefty Frizell, Roy Acuff and Hank Williams, and try singing like George Jones. The result was "Why Baby Why," his first Top Five hit.
At Starday, Jones made rockabilly records as Thumper Jones and had his first country #1 at Mercury Records in 1959 with "White Lightning." In 1961 he hit #1 again with "Tender Years" and "She Thinks I Still Care," which held the #1 spot for six weeks and let to Male Vocalist of the Year awards from the Country Music Association in 1962 and again in 1963. Later in the '60s, on the Musicor label, his singles consistently hit the Top 10 and he hit #1 again in 1967 with "Walk Through This World With Me."
Jones, the top male singer in country music, married country music's hottest new female artist Tammy Wynette in 1969. He soon joined Wynette's label, Epic, where he enjoyed a successful 20-year association with producer Billy Sherrill. He hit #1 in the '70s with "The Grand Tour" and "The Door," both in 1974. His marriage to Wynette was stormy but in the recording studio they were the perfect duet partners, hitting #1 with "We're Gonna Hold On" in 1974 and, coinciding with their 1976 divorce, "Golden Ring" and "Near You."
Jones kicked off the 1980's with one of the all-time great country records, "He Stopped Loving Her Today," which won him Single of the Year honors from the CMA in 1980 and again in 1981. He won virtually every award available for that song including the Grammy and the song remained #1 for 18 weeks. His hits continued throughout the decade and his video for "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" won the CMA's Video of the Year award in 1986.
In 1991, Jones signed with MCA Records, an event MCA Nashville President Tony Brown said was "like signing Elvis." In 1992 the CMA recognized Jones' monumental career by induction him into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He recorded High-Tech Redneck and the highly acclaimed acoustic album The Bradley Barn Sessions for MCA. In 1995, Jones and Tammy Wynette were reunited for a new CD entitled One and toured together for the first time in twenty years. Thankfully, George and Tammy had found friendship and peace in their relationship before the First Lady of Country Music unexpectedly passed away in 1998.
In 1996, Jones told his life story in the book I LIVED TO TELL IT ALL, which went to #6 on The New York Times bestseller list. As country fans were reading about his infamous past, he drew from his musical past in putting together his last CD for MCA, also entitled I Lived To Tell It All.
His COLD HARD TRUTH project proved that George Jones is still "hotter than a $2.00 pistol" and is poised to continue his amazing music legacy with the BNA/BAndit release, THE ROCK.
courtesy of Sony Music ©
