50 Years of Hits | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Compilation album by | ||||
Released | November 9, 2004 | |||
Recorded | 1955–2004 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | Disc 1 – 45:04 Disc 2 – 51:07 Disc 3 – 54:18 | |||
Label | Bandit | |||
Producer | Pappy Daily Billy Sherrill Norro Wilson Buddy Cannon Kyle Lehning Evelyn Shriver | |||
George Jones compilation albums chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | link |
50 Years of Hits is a country album by George Jones who was signed to Starday Records in 1953, released his first singles in 1954, and had his first hit with "Why Baby Why'" in 1955.
Jones began recording in 1954 and his first releases were on the independent Starday label. As his career progressed, he moved to Mercury, United Artists, Musicor, Epic (where he remained for 19 years), MCA Nashville, Asylum, and Bullet Records. Billboard states that Jones has had more charted singles than any artist in any format of music, and 50 Years of Hits features one song per year, representing the actual year that song was released. Most of the time, the song chosen was Jones' biggest hit of that year, but sometimes it was chosen because Jones thought it was his best song that year. The set is not historically accurate; the compilers were unable to work out a deal with Musicor to feature Jones's late-'60s hits, so they were forced to substitute re-recordings of "Walk Through This World With Me," "She's Mine," "I'll Share My World With You," and "A Good Year for the Roses" for the originals. In addition, the inclusion of his number one single "Still Doin' Time" among his mid-1960s hits is an error; the song topped the charts in 1981. Finally, the inclusion of a 1979 duet he recorded with Waylon Jennings, "Night Life", appears out of place as it wasn't even a single. Nevertheless, the package is an enormous document of country music history in its own right, chronicling the career of a man who many believe is the greatest interpreter of the country song who ever lived. Jones had so many hits that some of them, such as his 1974 number one hit "The Door", and his chart topping duet "Golden Ring" with Tammy Wynette, could not be included.
In addition to Jennings and Wynette, the album includes appearances Melba Montgomery, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson, the Oak Ridge Boys, Randy Travis, and Garth Brooks.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Why Baby Why" | Darrell Edwards, George Jones | 2:15 |
2. | "Just One More" | Jones | 2:42 |
3. | "Tall, Tall Trees" | Jones, Roger Miller | 2:26 |
4. | "Color of the Blues" | Jones, Lawton Williams | 2:50 |
5. | "White Lightning" | J. P. Richardson | 2:46 |
6. | "Window Up Above" | Jones | 2:33 |
7. | "Tender Years" | Edwards, Jones | 2:23 |
8. | "She Thinks I Still Care" | Steve Duffy, Dickey Lee | 2:34 |
9. | "You Comb Her Hair" | Hank Cochran, Harlan Howard | 2:40 |
10. | "The Race Is On" | Jones, Don Rollins | 2:07 |
11. | "We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds" (with Melba Montgomery) | Earl Montgomery | 2:39 |
12. | "Still Doin' Time" | Michael P. Heeney, John E. Moffat | 2:49 |
13. | "Walk Through This World with Me" (re-recording) | Kaye Savage, Sandy Seamons | 2:25 |
14. | "She's Mine" | Jones, Jack Ripley | 3:02 |
15. | "I'll Share My World with You" | Ben Wilson | 2:47 |
16. | "Good Year for the Roses" (with Alan Jackson) | Jerry Chesnut | 3:37 |
17. | "Take Me" (with Tammy Wynette) | Jones, Leon Payne | 2:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "A Picture of Me (Without You)" | George Richey, Norro Wilson | 2:31 |
2. | "Once You've Had the Best" | Johnny Paycheck | 2:38 |
3. | "The Grand Tour" | Richey, Carmol Taylor, Wilson | 3:05 |
4. | "These Days I Barely Get By" | Jones, Tammy Wynette | 3:01 |
5. | "Her Name Is" | Bobby Braddock | 2:19 |
6. | "Near You" (with Tammy Wynette) | Francis Craig, Kermit Goell | 2:21 |
7. | "Bartender's Blues" | James Taylor | 3:46 |
8. | "Night Life" (with Waylon Jennings) | Walt Breeland, Paul Buskirk, Willie Nelson | 3:42 |
9. | "He Stopped Loving Her Today" | Braddock, Curly Putman | 3:17 |
10. | "Yesterday's Wine" (with Merle Haggard) | Nelson | 3:14 |
11. | "Same Ole Me" | Paul Overstreet | 2:52 |
12. | "I Always Get Lucky with You" | Gary Church, Merle Haggard, Freddy Powers, Tex Whitson | 3:18 |
13. | "She's My Rock" | Gene Dobbins | 2:27 |
14. | "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" | Max D. Barnes, Troy Seals | 3:17 |
15. | "The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song)" | Gary Gentry | 2:30 |
16. | "The Right Left Hand" | Dennis Knutson, A.L. "Doodle" Owens | 3:15 |
17. | "Radio Lover" | Ron Hellard, Bucky Jones | 3:26 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "(I'm a) One Woman Man" | Tillman Franks, Johnny Horton | 2:15 |
2. | "A Few Ole Country Boys" (with Randy Travis) | Seals, Mentor Williams | 3:38 |
3. | "You Couldn't Get the Picture" | Chuck Harter | 3:34 |
4. | "Finally Friday" | Bobby Boyd, Dennis Robbins | 2:43 |
5. | "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair" | Billy Yates, Frank Dycus, Kerry Kurt Phillips | 2:48 |
6. | "High Tech Redneck" | Byron Hill, Zack Turner | 2:26 |
7. | "One" (with Tammy Wynette) | Ed Bruce, Judith Bruce, Ed Jones, Ron Peterson | 4:07 |
8. | "I Must Have Done Something Bad" | Red Lane | 3:19 |
9. | "When Did You Stop Loving Me" | Donny Kees, Monty Holmes | 3:43 |
10. | "Wild Irish Rose" | Braddock | 4:39 |
11. | "Choices" | Yates, Mike Curtis | 3:25 |
12. | "Cold Hard Truth" | Jamie O'Hara | 4:06 |
13. | "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)" (with Garth Brooks) | Keith Anderson, Kent Blazy, George Ducas, Amanda Williams, Kim Williams | 3:03 |
14. | "50,000 Names" | O'Hara | 3:50 |
15. | "I Got Everything" | Al Anderson, Jim Hoke | 3:13 |
16. | "Amazing Grace" | John Newton | 3:22 |
Chart (2004) | Peak position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 20 |
U.S. Billboard 200 | 118 |
U.S. Billboard Independent Albums | 5 |
Region | Certification |
---|---|
United States (RIAA) [1] | Gold |
Tammy Wynette was an American country music singer, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bring a woman's perspective to the male-dominated country music field that helped other women find representation in the genre. Her characteristic vocal delivery has been acclaimed by critics, journalists and writers for conveying unique emotion. Twenty of her singles topped the Billboard country chart during her career. Her signature song "Stand by Your Man" received both acclaim and criticism for its portrayal of women's loyalty towards their husbands.
George Glenn Jones was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", and for his distinctive voice and phrasing. For the last two decades of his life, Jones was frequently referred to as "the greatest living country singer". Jones has been called "The Rolls-Royce of Country Music" and had more than 160 chart singles to his name from 1955 until his death in 2013.
Lee Ann Womack Liddell is an American country music singer. Her 2000 single, "I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and the Top 15 of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her signature song.
Loretta Lynn Morgan is an American country music singer and actress. She is the daughter of George Morgan, widow of Keith Whitley, and ex-wife of Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw, all of whom are also country music singers. Morgan has been active as a singer since the age of 13, and charted her first single in 1979. She achieved her greatest success between 1988 and 1999, recording for RCA Records and the defunct BNA Records. Her first two RCA albums and her BNA album Watch Me are all certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The 1995 compilation Reflections: Greatest Hits is her best-selling album with a double-platinum certification; War Paint, Greater Need, and Shakin' Things Up, also on BNA, are certified gold.
Deborah Allen is an American country music singer and songwriter. Since 1976, Allen has issued 12 albums and charted 14 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. She recorded the 1983 crossover hit "Baby I Lied", which reached No. 4 on the country chart and No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. Allen has also written No. 1 singles for herself, Janie Fricke, and John Conlee; top 5 hits for Patty Loveless and Tanya Tucker; and a top 10 hit for the Whites.
Woodrow Wilson "Red" Sovine was an American country music singer and songwriter associated with truck driving songs, particularly those recited as narratives but set to music. His most noted examples are "Giddyup Go" (1965) and "Teddy Bear" (1976), both of which topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Billy Norris Sherrill was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger associated with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regarded as the defining influences of the countrypolitan sound, a smooth amalgamation of pop and country music that was popular during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Sherrill also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Stand by Your Man" and "The Most Beautiful Girl".
My Very Special Guests is a duet album by American country music artist George Jones released in 1979 on the Epic Records label.
Margaret Louise Ebey, known professionally as Margie Singleton, is an American country music singer and songwriter. In the 1960s, she was a popular duet and solo recording artist, working with country stars George Jones and Faron Young. Singleton had her biggest hit with Young called "Keeping Up with the Joneses" in 1964. She managed a successful solo career in the 1960s.
I Wish Tonight Would Never End is an album by American country music artist George Jones. It was released in 1963 on the United Artists record label.
White Lightning and Other Favorites is a studio album released by George Jones on May 26, 1959. Its title track "White Lightning" was a #1 Country hit in 1959.
Long Live King George is a 1965 country music album released by George Jones. The album was long thought to be a studio release; however, it is a late Starday Records compilation of Jones recordings throughout the mid- to late 1950s.
Grand Ole Opry's New Star is the debut studio album released by George Jones in November 1956 with Starday Records. Produced by Jones' manager Pappy Daily, the album was recorded during early sessions in 1954, throughout 1955, and other sessions in 1956. It is also the first album to be released on the Starday label, a label only four years old.
The albums discography of American country artist, George Jones contains 80 studio albums, 132 compilation albums, three live albums, ten video albums and seven box sets. Of his studio albums, 69 are solo releases while 11 are collaborative releases. In 1956, Jones's debut studio LP was issued on Starday Records titled, Grand Ole Opry's New Star. The label only issued one studio effort, but would release a series of compilation. On Mercury Records, Jones released six studio LP's including Country Church Time (1959) and George Jones Salutes Hank Williams (1960). He switched to the United Artists label in 1962, where he released 13 studio LP's. Among these was a collaborative LP with Melba Montgomery called What's in Our Hearts (1963), which was his first to chart the Billboard Top Country Albums survey. He moved to Musicor in 1965. Among the label's studio LP's was I'm a People (1966), which reached the top of the Billboard country survey. Musicor also issued his first collaborative studio album with Gene Pitney, which made the Billboard country LP's chart and the Billboard 200.
"Why Baby Why" is a country music song co-written and originally recorded by George Jones. Released in late 1955 on Starday Records and produced by Starday co-founder and Jones' manager Pappy Daily, it peaked at 4 on the Billboard country charts that year. It was Jones' first chart single, following several unsuccessful singles released during the prior year on Starday.
The singles discography of American country artist, George Jones, contains 182 singles. Of the total, 136 were released with Jones as the solo artist. In addition, 31 were issued with Jones being part of a collaboration. Thirdly, eight singles were issued with Jones being part of a featured act. Fourthly, seven released were promotional singles. Additionally, 14 songs that are not released as singles are included that made any major chart. Finally, 21 music videos which were first issued as singles are also listed. Jones had his first chart success in 1955 with several top ten Billboard Hot Country Songs singles: "Why Baby Why", "What Am I Worth" and "You Gotta Be My Baby". After several more top ten releases, "White Lightning" became his first to top the Billboard country chart. Along with "Who Shot Sam", both singles were also his first to make the Hot 100 charts.
"Did I Ever Tell You" is a duet by American country singers George Jones and Margie Singleton on their 1962 duet album, Duets Country Style. It was released as a single in 1961, peaking at number 15 on the 1961 Billboard Hot Country Songs singles chart.
The Crown Prince of Country Music is the 1960 country music compilation album released by Starday Records of previously unissued recordings released in January 1960. The album's original release, like the reissue edition, did not chart.
George Jones Sings is a compilation album released by George Jones in May 1957. The album didn't chart well; however, it plays many of his best early recordings.
The Ways to Love a Man is a studio album by American country artist, Tammy Wynette. It was released on January 26, 1970, via Epic Records and was the seventh studio album in Wynette's career. The disc consisted of 11 tracks which included both original material and cover recordings. Its title track was the album's only single included. It became a number one song on the North American country charts while also reaching chart positions in other musical genres as well. The album itself also reached chart positions on the country albums chart following its release. Critics and journalists gave the album a positive reception in the years that followed.