50 Years Of Hits

Performer: George Jones
Producer: Billy Sherrill; Norro Wilson; Buddy Cannon; Kyle Lehning; Emory Gordy, Jr.; H.W. "Pappy" Daily; Keith Stegall; Brian Ahern; Pappy Daily; Billy Sherrill; Norro Wilson; Buddy Cannon; Kyle Lehning; Evelyn Shriver (Compilation); Evelyn Shriver (Compilation)
Distributor: Welk

Notes: Personnel: George Jones (vocals, guitar); Melba Montgomery (vocals); Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Merle Haggard, Randy Travis, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings. Liner Note Author: George Jones. Even the title of the three-disc George Jones collection 50 YEARS OF HITS should be enough to tell you that the man being anthologized is one of the all-time giants of country music. A towering influence on all that followed him, not only in country but in rock and pop as well, Jones started out in the 1950s as a Hank Williams-influenced honky-tonk man who wasn't afraid of a little rockabilly either (the Hank influence is clearly audible on such early tracks as "Just One More"). By the '60s, he'd refined his approach, taking a bit from the jazz-inflected style of Lefty Frizzell and becoming a striking balladeer. "She Thinks I Still Care" and "Color of the Blues" stand as templates for how to sing a country ballad. For most performers, that would have been enough, but Jones never stopped turning out heart-stopping performances. This is underscored by the presence of the mid-period mind-blower "He Stopped Loving Her Today," which reaches a superhuman level of pathos, and latter-day tracks such as the unstintingly bleak "The Cold Hard Truth," as well as the high-spirited, good-humored "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)." In case future generations want to know what country music was all about back in the 20th century, there should be a copy of 50 YEARS OF HITS placed in a time capsule.

Entertainment Weekly (p.93) - "Strict chronology allows for fun realizations..." - Grade: A

George Jones is the greatest of country singers but he has also been a victim of the infamous hard-living honky-tonk lifestyle. Though he's gone through several phases, from rockabilly to honky-tonk to countrypolitan, his melismatic, Lefty Frizell-influenced style has remained at the core of his unique sound. His stormy marriage to Tammy Wynette (1969-75) included duet albums of love songs and bitter recriminations. By the late '70s, his drinking and cocaine addiction had made him so unreliable that he was known as "No Show Jones." In 1979 he received medical treatment and staged a significant comeback with I AM WHAT I AM, which included his greatest single, "He Stopped Loving Her Today."

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25