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George Jones Quotes

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 twenty years 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." Waylon Jennings expressed a similar opinion in his song "It's Alright": "If we all could sound like we wanted to, we'd all sound like George Jones." The shape of his nose and facial features earned Jones the nickname "The Possum".Born in Texas, Jones first heard country music when he was seven and was given a guitar at the age of nine. He married his first wife, Dorothy Bonvillion, in 1950, and was divorced in 1951. He served in the United States Marine Corps and was discharged in 1953. He married Shirley Ann Corley in 1954. In 1959, Jones recorded "White Lightning", written by J. P. Richardson, which launched his career as a singer. His second marriage ended in divorce in 1968; he married fellow country music singer Tammy Wynette a year later. Years of alcoholism compromised his health and led to his missing many performances, earning him the nickname "No Show Jones". After his divorce from Wynette in 1975, Jones married his fourth wife, Nancy Sepulvado, in 1983 and became sober for good in 1999. Jones died in 2013, aged 81, from hypoxic respiratory failure.

During his career, Jones had more than 150 hits, both as a solo artist and in duets with other artists. Robert Christgau has called him "honky-tonk's greatest honky". Wikipedia  

✵ 12. September 1931 – 26. April 2013
George Jones photo
George Jones: 8   quotes 2   likes

Famous George Jones Quotes

“Maybe some folks are alcoholics and others are just voluntary drunks. Maybe some folks drink due to body chemistry and others due to their lazy characters. Maybe some have drinking problems, while others have problems enough to drink.”

George Jones

Source: I Lived to Tell It All (1996, ebook 2014), Page 205.

“I've seen hate change many things for the worse. I've seen love change everything for the good.”

George Jones

Source: I Lived to Tell It All (1996, ebook 2014), Page 205.

“There are questions I'm still not wise enough to answer, just wise enough to no longer ask.”

George Jones

Source: I Lived to Tell It All (1996, ebook 2014), Page 148.

“It's never been for love of money. I thank God for it because it makes me a living. But I sing because I love it, not because of the dollar signs.”

George Jones

Billboard - 28 Oct 2006 - Page 48 https://books.google.com/books?id=KQ8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=It%27s+never+been+for+love+of+money.+I+thank+God+for+it+because+it+makes+me+a+living.+But+I+sing+because+I+love+it,+not+because+of+the+dollar+signs.&source=bl&ots=98m-74BYnT&sig=4S5wWfO72ZmDRBRCgUscFVFDd1Q&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6Ts3VfGnNIqfygOv4YGYDA&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=It's%20never%20been%20for%20love%20of%20money.%20I%20thank%20God%20for%20it%20because%20it%20makes%20me%20a%20living.%20But%20I%20sing%20because%20I%20love%20it%2C%20not%20because%20of%20the%20dollar%20signs.&f=false.

“I couldn't think or eat nothin' unless it was Hank Williams, and I couldn't wait for his next record to come out. He had to be, really, the greatest.”

George Jones

Socialist Unity - Debate & analysis for activists & trade unionists http://socialistunity.com/george-jones-the-passing-of-ole-possum/

“While he and his idol, Hank Williams, have both affected generations with a plaintive veracity of voice that has set them apart, Jones has an additional gift—a voice of exceptional range, natural elegance, and lucent tone. Gliding toward high tenor, plunging toward deep bass, the magisterial portamento of his onward-coursing baritone emits white-hot sparks and torrents of blue, investing his poison love songs with a tragic gravity and inflaming his celebrations of the honky-tonk ethos with the hellfire of abandon.”

George Jones

Nick Tosches The Devil in George Jones http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/devil-george-jones/page/0/1, 1994.

“I would give anything if I could sing like George Jones.”

George Jones

Waylon Jennings, The True Genius of George Jones http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/04/26/george_jones_died_the_country_music_legend_was_a_genius_video.html.

“The greatest thing since sliced bread.”

George Jones

Buck Owens, RIP George Jones: 1931-2013 http://communityvoices.post-gazette.com/arts-entertainment-living/get-rhythm/item/36485-rip-george-jones-1931-2013, 1988

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