As I've noted on a few occasions, when I first got into country music, George Jones was among the top 4 or 5 artists in my book. I found a "Greatest Hits" album at WFUV and I remembered loving virtually every song on it--"Walk Through This World With Me", "The Grand Tour", "Pictures Of Me Without You" and, of course, his signature, "She Thinks I Still Care". I loved the feeling he put into each song and the common-man stories they told. I saw him on two occasions. The first, back in perhaps the late '70s at the old Bottom Line in NYC. I had free tickets to the first show and paid for the second. Being there for both gave me the opportunity to move up to the front row, literally in front of his face. He was drinking and taking drugs at that time, but, amazingly, he still was awesome. He asked for requests and I shouted out the somewhat obscure, "Tell Me My Lyin' Eyes Are Wrong". I think he realized no one but a die-hard George Jones fan would remember that one and he did it right then and there. Fast forward to about eight years ago. I saw him in Pennsylvania Dutch Country at a theater and had a bad time. His band opened the show like a really loud rock concert and even when he was on, they felt they had to turn it up to keep the audience's attention. They didn't have to. That experience kind of lessened my affection and I moved on a bit, but I still have tremendous respect for George. During the past few years, he's been critical of country music radio and record labels for pushing the pioneers to the side in favor of the flavor-of-the-month, "plastic cowboy", as Vern Gosdin once called them. He's right. But, for now, let's pay tribute to the Possum by playing a few of his greatest songs, including the incredible "He Stopped Loving Her Today", plus links to a Melba Montgomery duet and the aforementioned song he sang for me way back when. "She Thinks I Still Care"
Back in college, when I first got into country music by default--taking over a country show on WFUV--the holy grail of country for me consisted of Hank Snow, George Jones, Merle Haggard and "ET", Ernest Tubb. Everyone--audiences and artists, alike--loved ET. And why not? You knew what you were getting--true honky tonk, true country. I had the privelege of seeing him twice, once at the old and wonderful Lone Star Cafe in NY, when, even ill, he walked up the stairs from performing and turned around that guitar, which said "THANKS". The second time was at a New Jersey venue, when I had the awesome pleasure of going on his bus, The Green Hornet, and interviewing him. One thing he said always stuck in my mind, in his words, "I wouldn't change for anything. If I knew it would sell ten million records, I wouldn't try to do something I didn't believe in. I believe in country music and I'm going to stay with country music."
And he did stay country. A true pioneer of country music, he was heavily influenced by the Father of Country Music, Jimmie Rodgers. He told me, while he had the chance to see Rodgers performs at least once, he opted not to so that the iconic image he had of Rodgers wouldn't be altered. Rodgers' widow help him land his first record contract. He didn't hit until 1940, when "Walking The Floor Over You" took the country world by storm. A year earlier, he had had a tonsillectomy, which affected his voice, making it very distinctive and, in his words to me, "not that pretty!" He is quoted as saying he was sure that guys in bars playing him on the jukebox would turn to their girlfriends and say they could sing better than Tubb, and he acknowledged they were probably right! But I love his voice. And I love the fact that he was a loving entertainer who cherished his audiences and fostered the careers of many artists, from Hank Snow and Stonewall Jackson to Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn. When no one would have Willie on TV, he put him on his TV show. And when Decca Records asked him to cut a series of duo records, he could have picked anyone, but choose Loretta Lynn, who proudly stated last year at a show my son opened, "Ernest was my first duo partner, even before Conway!"
ET hit the country charts 91 times and his "Texas Troubadour" bands included awesome artists, several of whom went on to great success, like Cal Smith ("Country Bumpkin") and Jack Greene "There Goes My Everything", "Statue of a Fool"). Throughout his recordings, he would call out to band members to take solos, guitarists with nicknames like "Butterball" to Billy Byrd and Leon Rhodes, who proved to his grandchildren that he'd been a Texas Troubadour by playing a few songs where ET called out, "C'mon Leon."
ET died of emphysema in 1984. He looked much older than his 70 years, worn down by illness and constantly being on the road. He left behind a legacy ranging from the Ernest Tubb Record Shop to a song catalogue that helped define the golden age of country to perhaps his grand-nephew, Lucky Tubb, who has been putting out some interesting music on his own.
ET still rocks, at least in my book.
ET: Try Me One More Time
ET: Thanks A Lot; ET & Loretta Lynn: Who's Gonna Take The Garbage OutET & Friends: Walkin' The Floor Over You
As I've noted on a few occasions, when I first got into country music, George Jones was among the top 4 or 5 artists in my book. I found a "Greatest Hits" album at WFUV and I remembered loving virtually every song on it--"Walk Through This World With Me", "The Grand Tour", "Pictures Of Me Without You" and, of course, his signature, "She Thinks I Still Care". I loved the feeling he put into each song and the common-man stories they told. I saw him on two occasions. The first, back in perhaps the late '70s at the old Bottom Line in NYC. I had free tickets to the first show and paid for the second. Being there for both gave me the opportunity to move up to the front row, literally in front of his face. He was drinking and taking drugs at that time, but, amazingly, he still was awesome. He asked for requests and I shouted out the somewhat obscure, "Tell Me My Lyin' Eyes Are Wrong". I think he realized no one but a die-hard George Jones fan would remember that one and he did it right then and there. Fast forward to about eight years ago. I saw him in Pennsylvania Dutch Country at a theater and had a bad time. His band opened the show like a really loud rock concert and even when he was on, they felt they had to turn it up to keep the audience's attention. They didn't have to. That experience kind of lessened my affection and I moved on a bit, but I still have tremendous respect for George. During the past few years, he's been critical of country music radio and record labels for pushing the pioneers to the side in favor of the flavor-of-the-month, "plastic cowboy", as Vern Gosdin once called them. He's right. But, for now, let's pay tribute to the Possum by playing a few of his greatest songs, including the incredible "He Stopped Loving Her Today", plus links to a Melba Montgomery duet and the aforementioned song he sang for me way back when.
