In 1979, George Jones was better known among non-country fans than at any time in his, at that point, quarter-century career. But not for his singing. Unlike chart contemporaries Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard and Ray Price, he’d never […]
In a recording career that hit the half-century mark this year, it’s hard to think of George Jones as the “jumpin’ type fella” Louisiana Hayride emcee Horace Logan described while introducing him on June 23, 1956. The “Thumper Jones” rockabilly […]
Those who’ve come to George Jones late in the game may not be aware of his long tradition of gospel recordings. They’ve certainly been eclipsed by his dissolute years, when Epic Records producer Billy Sherrill chronicled Jones’ booze and coke-fueled […]
In most ways, this is a textbook follow-up to George Jones’ eerie, surprisingly substantial 1999 album Cold Hard Truth — same basic song ideas only not quite as good, similar sound only not quite as strong, those mellow-but-boy-did-he-earn-it vocals only […]
If, for some reason, it became necessary to explain to a Martian (or a radio programmer) what country music is and why it matters, this album should about do the job. That the opening “He Stopped Loving Her Today” was […]
You aren’t ever going to catch me complaining when Koch reissues old George Jones albums, but, in a couple of ways, it does seem an odd decision to package these two particular early-’70s LPs, Jones’ second and third with Epic […]
Garth Brooks may be country music’s answer to Billy Joel, and Travis Tritt its Elton John (check out “Up Against the Wall” off his new album, The Restless Kind), but the beauty of George Jones is that, no matter what […]
