Jones Country

Last updated

Jones Country
JonesCountry.jpg
Studio album by
Released1983
Genre Country
Label Epic
Producer Billy Sherrill
George Jones chronology
Shine On
(1983)
Jones Country
(1983)
You've Still Got a Place in My Heart
(1984)

Jones Country is an album by American country music artist George Jones released in 1983 on the Epic Records label.

Contents

Background

The album's name was taken from an outdoor music park operated and owned by Jones in Texas near his birthplace between the years of 1983 through 1988 prior to his and his wife's return to the Nashville, Tennessee area in 1989. Jones had operated several similar country music themed parks over the years, beginning with the short lived George Jones Rhythm Ranch in 1966 and then the Old Plantation Music Park in Lakeland, Florida in the early seventies when he'd been married to Tammy Wynette. Jones had also opened two Possum Holler Clubs in Nashville in 1967 and 1975. As he later recalled in his 1996 autobiography I Lived To Tell It All, one of benefits of the Jones Country park was that it took his mind off his drinking problem, which he was trying to kick: "Returning to Texas helped me stop drinking for a while. I went on a sobriety binge...Working on the place, I knew, would keep me busy. The busier I was, the less I would drink. I think my dry period lasted several months, with only an occasional slip."

Recording

Jones Country would end the singer's run of top ten LPs, peaking at number 27 on the Billboard albums chart. Part of the reason for this may have been overexposure – it was George's seventh album in three years – although this streamline production had been common practice at CBS Records at the time, with Jones's label mates Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson also producing albums at a furious pace. Oddly, no singles were released from Jones Country, despite Jones having scored the number one hit "I Always Get Lucky With You" earlier in the year. As Amazon.com explains, "At the time of the album's release George's record company were just about to issue the smash hit duet with Ray Charles 'We Didn't See A Thing' from Ray Charles' Friendship album. This could have been the reason for no initial single releases from Jones Country." The murder ballad "Radio Lover" would be released as a single six years later when it appeared (along with the cover of Jack Scott's "Burning Bridges") on the singer's 1989 album One Woman Man. One "lost classic" that did appear on Jones Country was "You Must Have Walked Across My Mind Again", a boozy slab of hardcore honky tonk that was written by Wayne Kemp and Warren Robb with lyrics that sound like diary writing from a typical George Jones Friday night. Jones thought so much of the song that he recorded it again on his 1992 album Walls Can Fall. "Girl at the End of the Bar" was a cover of a John Anderson song from his debut 1980 album, John Anderson .

Reception

Jones biographer Bob Allen summed up the album, as well as the plethora of other Billy Sherrill-produced Jones LPs from this period, as "uniformly competent" but "not particularly memorable", stating that "...during the mid-1980s Sherrill and the newly clean and sober Jones – as if making up for all the fallow years – began cranking out LPs at a faster rate than any time since the singer's years of over-recorded excess on the Musicor label, when he turned out a frightening amount of junk."

30 years after the release of this LP it became the focal point of a CD reissue project on April 15, 2013, paired alongside another LP, 1984's You've Still Got a Place in My Heart, for a 2-album on-1 CD release. Unfortunately the release of those studio albums onto CD for the first time didn't get much notice due to the death of Jones 11 days later on April 26 at the age of 81.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Radio Lover" Curly Putman, Ron Hellard, Bucky Jones3:26
2."Dream On" Dennis Lambert, Brian Potter 3:23
3."Hello Trouble" Orville Couch, Eddie McDuff2:26
4."Burning Bridges"Walter Scott2:39
5."Wino the Clown"Curly Putman, Ron Hellard, Bucky Jones3:51
6."You Must Have Walked Across My Mind Again" Wayne Kemp, Warren Robb2:54
7."I'd Rather Die Young" Beasley Smith, Billy Vaughn, Randy Wood2:51
8."Girl at the End of the Bar" John Anderson, Lionel Delmore3:26
9."One of These Days (But Not Tonight)"Earl Montgomery2:26
10."Famous Last Words"Curly Putman, Ron Hellard, Bucky Jones3:16

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tammy Wynette</span> American country singer (1942–1998)

Tammy Wynette was an American country music singer and songwriter, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Jones</span> American country musician (1931–2013)

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.

<i>Almost Blue</i> 1981 studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

Almost Blue is the sixth studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and his fifth with the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas. It was recorded in May 1981 in Nashville, Tennessee, and released in October the same year. A departure from Costello's previous works, it is a covers album composed entirely of country music songs, including works written by Hank Williams and George Jones. The project originated with Costello's desire to record a collection of covers after his two previous studio albums commercially underperformed following Armed Forces (1979).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connie Smith</span> American country music artist (born 1941)

Connie Smith is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity has been noted between her vocal style and the stylings of country vocalist Patsy Cline. Other performers have cited Smith as influence on their own singing styles, which has been reflected in quotes and interviews over the years.

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".

<i>Hits I Missed...And One I Didnt</i> 2005 studio album by George Jones

Hits I Missed...And One I Didn't is the 59th studio album by American country music singer George Jones, released in 2005.

<i>I Am What I Am</i> (George Jones album) 1980 studio album by George Jones

I Am What I Am is an album by American country music artist George Jones, released in 1980 on Epic Records label. On July 4, 2000, the CD version was reissued with four previously unreleased bonus tracks on the Legacy Recordings label.

<i>The Gospel Collection</i> 2003 studio album by George Jones

The Gospel Collection is the 58th studio album by American country music singer George Jones, released on April 4, 2003 on the Bandit Records label, and the first single, "I Know A Man Who Can" was released through Rick Hendrix Company.

<i>You Oughta Be Here with Me</i> 1990 studio album by George Jones

You Oughta Be Here with Me is an album by American country music singer George Jones. This album was released in 1990 on Epic Records. It includes the singles "Hell Stays Open " and "Six Foot Deep, Six Foot Down", neither of which charted.

<i>Whos Gonna Fill Their Shoes</i> 1985 studio album by George Jones

Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes is the 45th studio album by American country music artist George Jones, released in 1985 on the Epic Records label.

<i>Ladies Choice</i> (George Jones album) 1984 studio album by George Jones

Ladies' Choice is an album by American country music artist George Jones, released in 1984 on the Epic Records label. It was composed largely of duets with female artists.

<i>My Very Special Guests</i> 1979 studio album by George Jones

My Very Special Guests is a duet album by American country music artist George Jones, released in 1979 by Epic Records.

<i>Bartenders Blues</i> (album) 1978 studio album by George Jones

Baretender's Blues is an album by American country music artist George Jones, released in 1978 on the Epic Records label. It was re-released on CD on the Razor & Tie label in 1996.

<i>Memories of Us</i> 1975 studio album by George Jones

Memories of Us is an album by American country music artist George Jones, released in 1975 on the Epic Records label. It peaked at #43 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. It is Jones’ 51st Album Release.

<i>George Jones (We Can Make It)</i> Album by country music artist George Jones

George Jones, also titled George Jones (We Can Make It) was the 1972 country music studio album released by George Jones in April 1972. The release was Jones' 46th studio album release since a debut from 16 years previous. Also as a highlight in his career, it was the first release made on Jones' new label, Epic Records.

<i>A Picture of Me (Without You)</i> 1972 studio album by George Jones

A Picture of Me (Without You) is an album by American country music singer George Jones. It was released in 1972 on the Epic Records label. The release was Jones' 47th studio album, his second solo LP for Epic Records, and is also one of four albums released by the singer during the year 1972 (two as a solo artist, and two duet albums with his wife Tammy Wynette) as producer Billy Sherrill wasted no time in flooding the market with new recordings by "the Possum". Jones's first album, George Jones (We Can Make It), made it to number 10 on the country albums charts but his second effort did better, rising to number three and featuring songs with a wider range of themes than those found on his Epic debut, which celebrated the happiness of new love. The album's title track was the only single release from it, peaking at #5 on the Billboard country singles charts.

<i>Walk Through This World with Me</i> 1967 studio album by George Jones

Walk Through This World with Me is an album by American country music artist George Jones released in 1967 on the Musicor Records label.

<i>Ive Got Something to Say</i> 1980 studio album by David Allan Coe

I've Got Something to Say is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1980 on Columbia. Guy Clark, Bill Anderson, Dickey Betts, Kris Kristofferson, Larry Jon Wilson, and George Jones are all featured on this album.

<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.

<i>Your Good Girls Gonna Go Bad</i> 1967 studio album by Tammy Wynette

Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad is a studio album by American country artist Tammy Wynette. It was released in May 1967 and contained ten tracks. The majority of the album was a collection of cover tunes Wynette recorded, including songs by George Jones, Loretta Lynn and Jeannie Seely. Several new songs were also part of the project. It was the debut studio album of Wynette's career and included two singles: "Apartment No. 9" and "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad". The latter became Wynette's first chart success, climbing into the top five of the American country chart. The album itself reached the American country LP's chart in 1967. The album later received a positive review from AllMusic, which gave it a five-star rating.