Jones, George (1931—)

Despite the trends that transformed country music over the second half of the twentieth century, George Jones continued to thrill audiences with his traditional "honky-tonk" voice, which remained a steady force in the industry from the 1950s onward. Initially, Jones was an improbable star, offering a twangy voice reminiscent of earlier hillbilly music at a time when rock and roll was making inroads into country music, but with his emergence as a star in the late 1950s, he went on to become a country music icon—indeed, contemporary star Garth Brooks once commented that "anybody who has ever wanted to sing country music wants to sound like George Jones." Between 1951 and 1971, Jones placed at least one song on the country top ten charts each year, and has won every major industry award in existence, including Single of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Video of the Year. He has lived a tumultuous personal life, complete with battles with drug abuse, divorce, and arrest.

Jones's early life made him an unlikely candidate for stardom. He was born in Saratoga, a small town near Beaumont in the "big thicket" area of East Texas, tucked away in the deep pine woods. He was the youngest of seven children born to a poor family. His father worked as a pipe fitter and truck driver to support the family during the Depression, but young George was surrounded by music as a child. His mother played the piano at church, and the entire family listened to country music on the radio, especially the "Grand Ole Opry" broadcast from Nashville, and Jones came of age listening to musical heroes Floyd Tillman, Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff, and Bill Monroe. In the years during and after World War II, an older Jones made his way to dance halls in towns such as Port Arthur and Orange, which were brimming with wartime industrial growth, and found the atmosphere intoxicating.

George began playing the guitar in high school, and from then on focused all of his energies on becoming a recording star. Attempting to sound like his heroes Roy Acuff and Hank Williams, he sought out venues such as local clubs and events such as school dances where he could hone his skills. He joined the marines during the Korean War, served for three years, then returned to Texas where, beset with doubts that he could ever break into show business, he found employment as a house painter. Nonetheless, he continued to sing and play guitar whenever he could, and over the next few years became a regular of the Texas honky-tonk circuit, performing in small towns throughout the area. Based on his local success, Jones then contacted producer Pappy Dailey at Starday Records, located in Beaumont, about making a record. The partnership proved a good one—Starday, as a local record company, was one of the few country music labels that was not moving into the rockabilly style then taking Nashville by storm.

The Starday label recorded and released Jones's first hit, "Why Baby Why" in 1955, but his first couple of years as a recording musician met with varied results. He was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry in 1956, a lifelong dream come true, and two years later left Starday for a deal with the more prestigious Mercury label. In 1959, his single "White Lightning" reached number one on the country charts, and by 1961 he was a country music celebrity, recording two number one hits, "Tender Years" and "She Thinks I Still Care." These prompted the Country Music Association to name him Male Vocalist of the Year in 1962 and 1963. Throughout the 1960s, Jones recorded hit after hit under a variety of labels, including United Artists, Musicor, and Epic. Singles that reached number one included "Window Up Above," "We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds," "Take Me," and "The Race is On." While dominating the country charts, he also toured ceaselessly, both nationally and internationally, seemingly without rest.

His celebrity status and the exhausting pace of his tours began to take a serious toll on George Jones. During the 1960s he began drinking heavily which, periodically, led to his cutting concerts short or canceling them altogether. He appeared drunk on stage regularly, and by the mid-1960s his career seemed to be on the verge of collapse. In 1967, however, it was rejuvenated when he began touring with singer Tammy Wynette, who had recently emerged as a new country music star. The combination was ideal, for both sang ballads in a traditional country style and both were known for their very distinctive voices. Fans were thrilled when Jones married Wynette in 1968—his third marriage—a relationship which proved to be more public than private. On stage, they sang both solos and duets, generally ending a concert with a song proclaiming their mutual devotion. The marriage proved lucrative, too, as the couple began recording together under the Epic label, churning out hit after hit in the early 1970s—including the 1974 number one, "We're Gonna Hold On." At the same time, Jones recorded solo hits such as "The Grand Tour" and "The Door," both of which reached number one in 1974.

Although the public image of his star-studded marriage to Wynette bolstered Jones's career, it was not long before he again began to experience hard times. He and Tammy lived in constant pursuit by reporters, and the resultant strain caused their relationship to grow turbulent and destructive. As the situation worsened, Jones again began to drink heavily. Their inevitable break-up added bizarrely to their public appeal and in 1976, the year they divorced, the couple recorded "Golden Ring" and "Near You," both of which became hits. In the years following the divorce, Jones's career once again seemed to be nearing the end. He missed several show dates, leading to numerous legal entanglements and an eventual declaration of bankruptcy, and the early 1980s found him more often in the news for his legal problems than his music. He was arrested on a number of occasions relating to his alcohol and drug abuse, and was sued by ex-wives and numerous creditors.

Yet Jones continued to perform and record, even during the darkest times. In 1980, he released what is perhaps his best known single, "He Stopped Loving Her Today," considered by some to be the best country music recording ever. A major hit, it won him Single of the Year from the Country Music Association in 1980 and 1981. Jones's personal problems never affected his popularity and he continued recording a string of hits throughout the 1980s. In 1986, he entered a new phase of his career by winning the Country Music Association's Video of the Year award for his single "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes"; in 1991, he signed a new recording deal with MCA Records, and the following year he was selected as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. In the late 1990s, Jones enjoyed further success by incorporating rock and roll into his music with hits such as "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair" and the successful album High-tech Redneck.

While these new hits demonstrated the singer's versatility and his willingness to experiment with contemporary styles, he continued to thrive on the music that had first brought him success. His album It Don't Get Any Better Than This (1998) is very much in the traditional George Jones style, and he also recorded a reunion album with Tammy Wynette called One in 1995. In many respects, George Jones stands as a reflection of country music itself: open to innovation while rooted in tradition.

—Jeffrey W. Coker

Further Reading:

Allen, Bob. George Jones: The Saga of An American Singer. Garden City, New York, Doubleday & Co., 1984.

Jones, George, with Tom Cater. I Lived to Tell It All. New York, Villard Books, 1996.

Malone, Bill C. Country Music U.S.A. Revised edition. Austin, University of Texas Press, 1985.

Nash, Alanna. Behind Closed Doors: Talking with the Legends of Country Music. New York, Alfred Knopf, 1988.