First Time Live

Last updated
First Time Live
George Jones First Time Live! Epic Records.jpg
Live album by
ReleasedOctober 13, 1984
Genre Country
Length31:06
Label Epic
Producer Billy Sherrill
George Jones compilation albums chronology
By Request
(1984)
First Time Live
(1984)
Super Hits
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

First Time Live is an album by American country music artist George Jones. This album was released on October 13, 1984, on the Epic Records label.

Contents

Background

First Time Live was recorded in the fall of 1984 but wasn't released to stores until 1985. While not nearly as historically relevant as Live at Dancetown U.S.A. (a vintage 1965 Jones performance from his honky-tonk heyday), First Time Live offers a glimpse into what Jones's live shows were like the late-1980s, which almost always started with "No Show Jones", a song he recorded with Haggard that pokes fun at the Possum's infamous reputation for missing shows due to drunkenness (bandleader Ron Gaddis would sing Haggard's part in concert). In 2006 Jones would tell Billboard, "It's true, I did miss quite a few dates. But they wouldn't have wanted to see or hear me anyhow, the shape I was in. Now I know it did hurt my fans in a way and I've always been sad about that, it really bothered me for a long time...Even if they got their money back...they still lost the chance to see somebody they loved to hear sing, and I cheated them out of that." Another highlight is a medley of old hits, which includes Jones's 1974 masterpiece "The Grand Tour".

On tour Jones was always backed by the Jones Boys. Like Buck Owens's Buckaroos and Merle Haggard's Strangers, Jones worked with many musicians who were great talents in their own right. These included Dan Schafer, [2] Hank Singer, Brittany Allyn, Sonny Curtis, Kent Goodson, Bobby Birkhead, and Steve Hinson. In the 1980s and 1990s, bass player Ron Gaddis served as the Jones Boys' bandleader and sang harmony with George in concert. Lorrie Morgan (who married Gaddis) also toured as a backup singer for Jones in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Johnny Paycheck was the Jones Boys' bass player in the 1960s before going on to his own stardom in the 1970s.

Reception

There were no singles released from the album, which barely cracked the top 50 on the Billboard country albums chart. The album does include a version of "She's My Rock", which had been a hit single in 1984. Jones biographer Bob Allen trashes the album, calling it one of the "real artistic nadirs" of this period and deeming it "a tired collection of concert recordings whose general shoddiness is even reflected in its historically inaccurate title."

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."No Show Jones" George Jones, Glenn Martin3:45
2."The Race is On"Don Rollins2:57
3."Fox on the Run" Tony Hazzard 2:06
4."Tennessee Whiskey" Dean Dillon, Linda Hargrove 3:02
5."I'm Not Ready Yet" Tom T. Hall 4:08
6."Who's Gonna Chop My Baby's Kindlin'" Fred Maddox 2:59
7."Medley: I'll Share My World with You/Window Up Above/The Grand Tour/Walk Through This World With Me"Ben Wilson/Jones/George Richey, Carmol Taylor, Norro Wilson, Sandy Seamons, Kaye Savage6:03
8."You Better Treat Your Man Right" Wayne Raney 3:51
9."He Stopped Loving Her Today" Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman 4:34
10."She's My Rock"Gene Dobbins3:01

Chart performance

Album

Chart (1984)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums45

Related Research Articles

The Brothers Johnson American funk and R&B band

The Brothers Johnson were an American funk and R&B band consisting of American musicians and brothers George and Louis E. Johnson. They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, with three singles topping the R&B charts.

America (band) American rock band formed in 1970

America is a rock band that was formed in London in 1970 by Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley. The trio met as sons of US Air Force personnel stationed in London, where they began performing live. Achieving significant popularity in the 1970s, the trio was famous for its close vocal harmonies and light acoustic folk rock sound. The band released a string of hit albums and singles, many of which found airplay on pop/soft rock stations.

David Gates American musician and singer-songwriter

David Ashworth Gates is a retired American singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician and producer, frontman and co-lead singer of the group Bread, which reached the tops of the musical charts in Europe and North America on several occasions in the 1970s. The band was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

Faces are an English rock band formed in 1969 by members of Small Faces after lead singer/guitarist Steve Marriott left that group to form Humble Pie. The remaining Small Faces—Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Lane, and Kenney Jones —were joined by Ronnie Wood (guitar) and Rod Stewart, both from the Jeff Beck Group, and the new line-up was renamed Faces.

Merle Haggard American country music songwriter, singer, and musician (1937–2016)

Merle Ronald Haggard was an American country singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.

Hall & Oates American pop rock duo

Daryl Hall and John Oates are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two write most of the songs they perform, separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the late-1980s with a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues.

George Jones American musician (1931–2013)

George Glenn Jones was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", as well as his distinctive voice and phrasing. For the last two decades of his life, Jones was frequently referred to as the greatest living country singer. Country music scholar Bill Malone writes, "For the two or three minutes consumed by a song, Jones immerses himself so completely in its lyrics, and in the mood it conveys, that the listener can scarcely avoid becoming similarly involved." The shape of his nose and facial features earned Jones the nickname "The Possum". 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.

The Oak Ridge Boys American country and gospel vocal quartet

The Oak Ridge Boys is an American country and gospel vocal quartet. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was changed to the Oak Ridge Boys in the early 1960s, and they remained a gospel group until the mid-1970s, when they changed their image and concentrated on country music.

Three Dog Night American band

Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sneed (drums). The band had 21 Billboard Top 40 hits between 1969 and 1975, with three hitting number one. Three Dog Night recorded many songs written by outside songwriters, and they helped to introduce mainstream audiences to writers such as Paul Williams and Hoyt Axton.

The Cathedral Quartet, also known as the Cathedrals, was an American southern gospel quartet who performed from 1964 to December 1999. The group's final lineup consisted of Glen Payne (lead), George Younce (bass), Ernie Haase (tenor), Scott Fowler, and Roger Bennett.

<i>Branded Man</i> 1967 studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

Branded Man is the fourth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released on Capitol Records in 1967.

<i>Kickin Out the Footlights...Again</i> 2006 studio album by George Jones and Merle Haggard

Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again is a studio album by American country music artists George Jones and Merle Haggard, released in 2006.

<i>Live with the Possum</i> 1999 live album by George Jones

Live with the Possum is a live album by American country music singer George Jones released on November 9, 1999 on the Asylum Records label. It was Jones's second and final album with Asylum Records and his second ever live album. Recorded in Knoxville on May 21, 1993 at the Knoxville Civic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, it was the soundtrack of a previously released video of Jones in concert called Live in Tennessee. Alan Jackson introduced the set with a short tribute. Ron Gaddis, Jones' bass player and band leader, provided vocals on "No Show Jones," the concert opener that George originally recorded with Merle Haggard in 1982. In 2006 Jones commented to Billboard, "As long as the people still want to come, I'm gonna be there. I don't care if I'm 95. I'm at the point in life where I really could shut it off, but what would I do?"

<i>Music Man</i> (album) 1980 studio album by Waylon Jennings

Music Man is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released in 1980 on RCA Victor.

<i>Walls Can Fall</i> 1992 studio album by George Jones

Walls Can Fall is an album by American country music artist George Jones. This album was released in 1992 on the MCA Nashville Records. It peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and number 77 on The Billboard 200 chart. Walls Can Fall went Gold in 1994.

<i>I Wanta Sing</i> 1977 studio album by George Jones

I Wanta Sing is an album by country singer George Jones. It was released in 1977 on the Epic record label.

She Thinks I Still Care

"She Thinks I Still Care" is a country song written by Dickey Lee and Steve Duffy. The song was recorded by multiple artists, including George Jones, Connie Francis, Anne Murray, Elvis Presley and Patty Loveless.

<i>Serving 190 Proof</i> 1979 studio album by Merle Haggard

Serving 190 Proof is the 29th studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard, released in May 1979. It reached Number 17 on the Billboard Country album chart. Four singles were released and all peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Country Singles chart — "Heaven Was A Drink Of Wine", "I Must Have Done Something Bad", "My Own Kind Of Hat" and "Red Bandana".

<i>Thats the Way Love Goes</i> (Merle Haggard album) 1983 studio album by Merle Haggard

That's the Way Love Goes is the 38th studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1983.

"I Always Get Lucky With You" is a song written by Merle Haggard, Freddy Powers, Gary Church, and Tex Whitson. It was first recorded by Haggard on his 1981 album Big City and then covered by American country music artist George Jones in April 1983 as the second single from the album Shine On. The song was Jones' ninth and final number one on the country chart as a solo artist. The single stayed at number one for one week and spent thirteen weeks on the country chart.

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. Ashley, Tim. "Dan Schafer Artist performances". Tripod. Retrieved 2012-02-05.