Grand Ole Opry's New Star | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 1956 [1] | |||
Recorded | January 19, 1954 – August 1956 | |||
Studio | Gold Star (Houston, Texas) | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 34:14 | |||
Label | Starday SLP-101 | |||
Producer | Pappy Daily (Original) Eric D. Foss (Reissue) | |||
George Jones chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Grand Ole Opry's New Star | ||||
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Grand Ole Opry's New Star is the debut studio album released by George Jones in November 1956 [1] 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.
Despite its mediocre sound (due in large part to the inadequate sound of Starday recordings), the album has become a huge collector's item. Online sales of original copies have ranged up from $200 to $500. On October 15, 2013, the album was reissued by Reserve Records, with the first 250 copies cut on blue vinyl and included a rare 45 of Jones' "Thumper Jones" releases.
Starday Records was an independent record label in Houston that was co-founded by Jones's producer and mentor H. W. "Pappy" Daily and Jack Starnes. Jones's first recording, the self-penned novelty "No Money in This Deal", had appeared in February 1954 and in 1955 he scored his first hit with "Why Baby Why", which would be the lead track on Grand Ole Opry's New Star. The title reflected Jones's 1956 appearance on the Grand Ole Opry , which solidified his emerging status in the country music world. [2] Extant copies of Grand Ole Opry's New Star are rare, and collector's prices are $400 and up. [3]
Jones wrote or co-wrote all fourteen songs on the album, [4] which included three of his early top-10 country hits: "Why Baby Why", "What Am I Worth", and "You Gotta Be My Baby". [5] The singer had performed "You Gotta Be My Baby" during his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry in 1956. The first three songs written for the album, "Play It Cool", "Hold Everything", and "Boat of Life", were recorded between January and August 1954 at Starnes's Studio in Beaumont, Texas; the remainder of the songs were recorded in Houston at Gold Star Studio between March 1955 and August 1956.
Jones's first chart hit, "Why Baby Why", has gone on to become a country standard, having been covered by Red Sovine and Webb Pierce (a number one duet in 1956), Hank Locklin (1956), Charley Pride (another number one in 1983), Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson (1983), Palomino Road (1992) and Patty Loveless (2008). In the liner notes to the retrospective Cup Of Loneliness: The Classic Mercury Years, country music historian Colin Escott observes that part of the song's appeal "lay in the way a Cajun dance number was trying to break free of a honky tonk song." Jones recorded the backing vocal himself, with help from innovative techniques from engineer Bill Quinn, after a planned appearance by more established singer Sonny Burns did not materialize due to the latter's drinking. According to the book George Jones: The Life and Times of a Honky Tonk Legend, Jones's frequent songwriting partner Darrell Edwards was inspired to write the words after hearing an argument between a couple at a gas station.
Jones and Edwards also collaborated on "Seasons Of My Heart", which would go on to be a hit for Johnny Cash and was also recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis and Willie Nelson. Former Starday president Don Pierce later explained to Jones biographer Bob Allen that "Pappy realized George's strength as a balladeer long before I did. He felt that 'Seasons Of My Heart' was a big song. I knew that, in those days, it took much longer to sell a ballad, because it had to make it on the radio first...I also knew that an upbeat song like 'Why, Baby Why' would be easier to sell directly to the jukebox distributors for the beer-drinkin' trade."
"I'm Ragged But I'm Right" is a defiant statement of blue collar pride that actually dates back to a 1929 blues record by the Blue Harmony Boys. It was later cut by stringband veteran Riley Puckett in 1934 but, as Colin Escott speculated in 1994, "George probably picked it up from the Gulf Coast legend Moon Mullican, who played the same spots." The song would remain a favorite of Jones's, who would rerecord it several times (the last being for his 1983 album You've Still Got A Place In My Heart). Grand Ole Opry's New Star also features the ballad "Yearning" with Jeanette Hicks, the first of countless duets Jones would record over his long career which would cement his place as one of country music's greatest harmony singers.
In later years, Jones would have little good to say about the music production at Starday, recalling to NPR in 1996 that "it was a terrible sound. We recorded in a small living room of a house on a highway near Beaumont. You could hear the trucks. We had to stop a lot of times because it wasn't soundproof, it was just egg crates nailed on the wall and the big old semi trucks would go by and make a lot of noise and we'd have to start over again." [6] In 2013, Grand Ole Opry's New Star was reissued for the first time. The first 250 copies of this album were pressed on blue vinyl and came with a bonus reissue of Jones's only rockabilly record, an ultra-rare 45 rpm he cut under the name "Thumper Jones" in the wake of Elvis Presley's explosion in popularity in 1956. In his autobiography the singer joked, "During the years, when I've encountered those records, I've used them for Frisbees." However, as Nick Tosches notes in his 1994 Texas Monthly article "The Devil in George Jones", "Though Jones would never acknowledge it, the rockabilly impulse of the early fifties had affected his sound as much as the lingering voices of Acuff and Williams. 'Play It Cool, Man, Play It Cool,' recorded by Jones in 1954, several months before Elvis's debut, had bordered on pure rockabilly..." In the 1989 Jones documentary Same Ole Me, Johnny Cash insisted, "George Jones woulda been a really hot rockabilly artist if he'd approached it from that angle. Well, he was, really, but never got the credit for it." "What Am I Worth" was covered by Sammy Kershaw on 1991's Don't Go Near the Water .
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [7] |
All songs by George Jones unless otherwise noted. As listed on the cover and record label: [4] [8]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Why Baby Why" | Darrell Edwards, George Jones | 2:16 |
2. | "Seasons of My Heart" | Jones, Edwards | 2:51 |
3. | "It's OK" | Jones | 2:18 |
4. | "Let Him Know" | Jones | 2:35 |
5. | "Play It Cool" | Jones | 2:33 |
6. | "Hold Everything" | Jones | 1:51 |
7. | "Boat of Life" | Jones | 2:00 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "You Gotta Be My Baby" | George Jones | 2:33 |
2. | "What I'm Worth" | Jones, Darrell Edwards | 2:34 |
3. | "Your Heart" | Jones, Edwards | 2:40 |
4. | "Ragged But Right" | Jones | 2:13 |
5. | "Yearning (duet w/ Jennette Hicks)" | Eddings, Jones | 2:55 |
6. | "Still Hurtin'" | Jones | 2:01 |
7. | "Taggin' Along" | Jones, Burl Stephens | 2:57 |
George Glenn Jones was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known 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", "The Rolls-Royce of Country Music", and had more than 160 chart singles to his name from 1955 until his death in 2013.
Aubrey Wilson Mullican, known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with the hillbilly boogie style which influenced rockabilly. Jerry Lee Lewis cited him as a major influence on his own singing and piano playing.
Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s.
Sings Country and Western Hits is the 1961 country music studio album released in May 1961 by George Jones. The album was Jones' tenth studio album release since his debut LP in 1956. It would be one of his last with Mercury Records, as he switched to United Artists in late 1961.
George Jones Salutes Hank Williams is the 1960 country music studio album released in May 1960 by George Jones. The album was the ninth studio LP release, and was recorded in one session. The album has been reissued multiple times since its release, including the tracks being reused on many compilations.
Country Church Time is the sixth studio album released by George Jones on January 20, 1959. The LP includes multiple early gospel recordings by Jones on Starday.
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.
"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. "Why Baby Why", has gone on to become a country standard, having been covered by many artists.
"White Lightning" is a song written by the rockabilly artist J. P. Richardson, best known by his stage name, the Big Bopper. The song was recorded by American country music artist George Jones and released as a single in February 1959. On April 13, 1959, Jones' version was the first number-one single of his career. The song has since been covered by numerous artists. Richardson never got to see the success of the record, as he had been killed in an airplane accident 6 days before its release.
De Armand Alexander "Eddie" Noack, Jr., was an American country and western singer, songwriter and music industry executive. He is best known for his 1968 recording of the controversial murder ballad, "Psycho", written by Leon Payne, produced by John Capps and issued on the K-ark Records label.
"Color of the Blues" is a 1958 country song written by George Jones and Lawton Williams and released by Jones on January 15, 1958.
"Seasons of My Heart" is a song written by George Jones and Darrell Edwards. The song was released as the b-side to the #4 hit "Why Baby Why" in 1955. The song was also recorded by Johnny Cash and, released in 1960, it became a #10 hit.
"Ragged But Right" is a traditional American song dating from the early 1900s. It was recorded by George Jones and released in 1956 as "I'm Ragged But I'm Right". The song is considered one of Jones' best early works, and it was included on his debut 1957 album.
"You Gotta Be My Baby" is a song written and recorded by George Jones. It was his second Top 10 hit on Starday Records, peaking at #7 on the country singles chart. That same year, he sang "You Gotta Be My baby" at his first appearance on The Grand Ole Opry. According to Bob Allen's book George Jones: The Life and Times of a Honky Tonk Legend, Jones nearly walked off the Opry show when one of the WSM officials told him he could not take his guitar with him onstage but relented after Opry regular George Morgan handed him a guitar owned by Little Jimmy Dickens and promised he would take responsibility. In the video biography Same Ole Me, George recalled, "I was just so nervous. This was the biggest thing that could ever happen to anybody in the world and I was just shakin'. I mean just truly shakin' all over."
"Don't Stop the Music" is a song written and recorded by George Jones. It was his first single release on Mercury-Starday and peaked at #10 on the country singles chart in early 1957.
"You're Heart Turned Left (And I Was on the Right)" is a song by George Jones and written by Harlan Howard. It was originally released in 1956 as "Your Heart" on his Grand Ole Opry's New Star album. It was re-released on his 1964 album, Sings More New Favorites, as "You're Heart Turned Left (And I Was on the Right)", and released as a single in January 1964, reaching the number 5 position on the Billboard country singles chart. At this point in his career, Jones had taken his place as one of the premiere balladeers of country music, but he always retained a soft spot for novelty numbers going back to his first recordings for Starday in the mid-fifties. "I've always tried to be versatile," he reflected in the 1989 video biography Same Ole Me. "I've always tried to do up-tempos, novelties, and ballads." The single was Jones' third top ten hit in a row.
"Rock It" is a rockabilly single by country music singer George Jones. Not wanting to use his real name and jeopardize his reputation as a country artist, Starday Records released it under the pseudonym "Thumper Jones."
"Yearning" is a duet by George Jones and Jeanette Hicks released on Jones' debut 1956 album, Grand Ole Opry's New Star. It was released as a single on Starday Records and peaked at number 10 on the 1957 Billboard Hot Country Songs singles chart. Although Jones had previously released a couple of duets with fellow Starday artist Sonny Burns, "Yearning" was his first duet to become a hit, making the Top 10.
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.
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