My first "real" radio job was doing the news part time on W104 FM in scenic Prospect, Connecticut. The high point of my broadcast day was reading the news at noon right after the National Anthem, heavily ironic since I was going to graduate school at Kent State at the time. I received the princely sum of $25 per week to read the headlines and babysit the format, country and western hits past and present basically regurgitated from a vast library of reel to reel tapes by computer. Although we were well north of the Mason Dixon line and the Grand Old Opry, the station was Number 3 in the state, allegedly listened to by the Governor !
My initial disdain and resistance to the hillbilly ballads gradually broke down over time, being forced to listen eight hours a day weekdays, twelve on Saturdays. I would start anticipating when certain tunes would come up in rotation, like "Third Rate Romance" or "Dropkick Me Jesus Through The Goalposts of Life" or my personal favorite song title, "She's Thinking Single So I'm Drinking Doubles." It started to sink into my skull that the more mainstream artists that could "crossover" into adult contemporary - Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Crystal Gale - owed a big debt to the Nashville stalwarts - Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard ,and the king and queen , George Jones and Tammy Wynette.
Jones' voice can wring tears out of the most mournful "cheatin' heart" lyrics, the perfect match for the lonesome whine of a pedal steel guitar, evoking last call in a smoke filled, half darkened bar, weeping into your favorite adult beverage.
George Jones was born in Texas in 1931, and racked up 150 hit songs before he died in Nashville last month. He first sprung onto the charts with the country classic "White Lightnin'' in 1959, a tribute to his favorite drug of choice, alcohol and eventually cocaine, Jones' wild lifestyle earning him the nickname of "No Show" Jones. But his most renowned tunes are all about broken hearts - "She Thinks I Still Care" (1962) or the classic "He Stopped Loving Her Today" (1980) , the video depicting a well groomed and leisure-suited Jones resembling an earnest country preacher, his voice choking on the plaintive words. When George married Tammy in 1969, they ascended to the top of country royalty, their stormy relationship ample fodder for the Nashville faithful, the marriage collapsing to the point where they promised "We're Gonna Hold On" in a 1973 duet, but two years later, the playlist had changed to "D-I-V-O-R-C-E". Besides Wynette, George sang with Merle Haggard, Randy Travis and Garth Brooks, performing right up to his death.
No matter what you think about country and western, some night when you're remembering a long lost love, George Jones is there when you need him, his tearful voice a reminder that you are not alone.
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