George Jones Tribute: Country Music King

 

Three contemporary photos taken by Alan Mercer in Los Angeles in February 2011

George Jones began his career by performing on the street to help earn money for his large and impoverished family, and after a brief stint in the military began to pursue his musical ambitions in earnest. In 1955 Jones landed in the country Top Ten with "Why Baby Why," and for the rest of his career was very rarely far from the charts, releasing hit single after hit single as a solo artist and as a duet partner with some of country’s biggest stars, most notably Tammy Wynette, who was also his third wife. Battling his personal demons along the way, Jones amassed an impressive musical legacy that earned him a 2012 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, among many other honors. 

George Glenn Jones was born in Saratoga, Texas, on September 12, 1931. One of eight children in a poor family, his father was an alcoholic who sometimes grew violent. "We were our daddy's loved ones when he was sober, his prisoners when he was drunk," Jones later wrote in his autobiography, I Lived to Tell It All. But despite these hardships, Jones and his family members shared a love of music, often singing hymns together and listening to records by the likes of the Carter Family. They also enjoyed listening to the radio, tuning into programs from the Grand Ole Opry.

With his songs about heartbreak, by the early 1960s, Jones had established himself as one of country music’s top singer as he continued to find chart success with singles such as "Window Up Above" (1960; No. 2) and the No. 1 hit "Tender Years" (1961). In 1962 the balladeer again returned to the top of the charts with what is regarded as one of his trademark tunes, "She Thinks I Still Care," and the following year teamed up with Melba Montgomery for the first of several albums, What’s in Our Heart, which reached No. 3 on the charts and proved to be their most successful collaboration.

But Jones maintained a presence on the charts on his own as well, scoring Top 10 hits with the 1964 single "The Race Is On" (No. 3) and 1965’s “Love Bug” (No. 6). The latter half of the 1960s was much the same for Jones, with both his solo efforts and his collaborations meeting enthusiastic reception. Among his notable tracks from this period are the singles “I’m a People” (1966) and “As Long As I Live” (1968), as well as the 1969 duet album with Gene Pitney, I’ll Share My World with You, featuring the No. 2 charting song of the same name.

Jones died on April 26, 2013, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where the 81-year-old had reportedly been hospitalized with irregular blood pressure and a fever just a week earlier. 

With a career spanning more than 50 years, Jones is regarded as one of country music’s all-time greatest stars. His clear, strong voice and ability to convey so many emotions won over thousands of fans, as well as earning him the envy of his peers. As fellow country star Waylon Jennings once said, "If we could sound the way we wanted, we'd all sound like George Jones."

Check out my blog with George Jones on my other blog here http://amprofile.blogspot.com/2012/03/george-jones.html