INFLUENCED: Alan Jackson and George Jones

One of the things that superstar Alan Jackson is known for is keeping country music country which is something that the legendary George Jones, who happens to be one of Alan’s influences, prides himself on.  Alan is not shy about sharing his love for George’s music and the man himself and in fact did so in a much-publicized manner at the 33rd Annual Country Music Association Awards in 1999.  George was nominated for Single of the Year with his powerful song “Choices” which he was set to perform on the show.  When he was asked to sing a shortened version on the song, George decided to stay home and not appear on the show at all.  During Alan’s performance slot on the show, Alan decided to pay respect to George and halfway through singing his 1999 hit “Pop A Top,” the traditionalist stopped and launched into “Choices.”  When he finished, Alan quietly left the stage completing one of the greatest moments of rebellion in country music history.

Alan has often recorded his own version of George’s hits.  For his Under the Influence album, Alan cut two of them – “Revenooer Man” and “Once You’ve Had the Best.”  In 1995, Alan had a number one hit with George’s “Tall, Tall Trees.”  During the prior year, he was featured on his musical hero’s The Bradley Barn Sessions album in which they teamed up to re-cut George’s classic “A Good Year for the Roses.”

Before influencing the current crop of country superstars with his distinctive vocals, George began his recording career in his native East Texas.  By the time he reached 24, George had already earned enough cred to be a country singer since he had been married twice, served in the Marines and made the rounds on the Texas honky-tonk circuit.  He started off recording rockabilly music under the name Thumper Jones in the 1950s but really found his niche when he achieved his first Top Five hit “Why Baby Why” and decided to stick with country music.  Soon, George was racking up the hits with songs like “Color of the Blues,” “White Lightning” (his first number one in 1959), “Window Up Above,” “Tender Years” and “She Thinks I Still Care,” establishing himself as one of the premier male vocalist of the time.

In 1969, George married Tammy Wynette and they became not only husband and wife but also a strong duet team delivering classics like “Golden Ring,” “We’re Gonna Hold On,” “Near You” and “Two Story House.”  Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t last (the two divorced in 1975) but that didn’t hinder the pair from continuing their successful musical collaborations.  George continued to have solo hits throughout this time, but, although he was on top of the world career-wise, his personal life was in shambles.  For years he had struggled with alcohol, and during the late 1970s and early 1980s, George found himself with financial problems and was using cocaine.  He began skipping out on shows earning the nickname “No Show Jones.”  But, in the midst of these troubles, George recorded what would become his signature song, the multiple award-winning “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” and met his future (and fourth) wife and saving grace Nancy.  Getting his life back on track was rough – George was in-and-out of hospitals a total of seven times in order to kick his habits – but Nancy helped George straighten out. 

By the time the 1990s rolled around, George was no longer prevalent on mainstream country radio but was still recording music that was critically acclaimed.  In 1992, George was deservingly inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Today, George continues to tour and in February released George Jones: The Great Lost Hits, a collection of 34 songs that had been out-of-print.

Image courtesy of Ed Rode / WireImage

Nikita Palmer for Citadel Digital © 2010

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