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| HISTORIC GEORGE JONES LIVE RECORDINGS AVAILABLE FOR FIRST TIME Nashville, Tenn. --- George Jones’ live performances from the 1950s and early 1960s have only been the stuff of legend, since no concert recordings from the time have existed – until now. George Jones: Live Recordings from the Louisiana Hayride, available March 9th from Scena Records (Emergent/RED) provides a wealth of previously unavailable concert recordings from early in the career of the greatest country singer of all-time. The album, taken from Saturday night broadcasts on Shreveport’s KWKH, features four songs recorded in 1956 and 1958, four more from an outstanding 1960s set, and eight from 1968 and 1969, when Jones was establishing his reputation as the rowdiest and most heartbreakingly expressive country singer of his generation. Until now, the earliest live recordings on Jones came from a 1965 concert released on LP in 1987 by an independent British label. Jones didn’t officially sanction a live recording until 1985, when he released First Time Live! on Epic Records. Concert performances from early in his career have always been rare – and welcomed with enthusiasm by his legions of fans. Live Recordings from the Louisiana Hayride picks 16 of the best performances from one of his favorite stages, the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. “George Jones’ vocal performances are the gold standard by which country music singers are judged,” writes author and renowned country music authority Paul Kingsbury in the liner notes. “These historic live performances show a young virtuoso in the making, refining his craft, taking chances and setting those standards.” Jones jumped on board the popular Louisiana Hayride program early in his career. The giant Shreveport country station no doubt gave the East Texas native an early boost when he began appearing on the program in 1955, the same year that his first hit, “Why Baby Why,” introduced his remarkable talent to national audiences. Jones was just 24 years old when he performed the CD’s opening cut, the romping “You Gotta Be My Baby,” which shows that his animated delivery was there from the start. By 1958, his colorful, distinctive phrasing had evolved to where his trademark vocal dips and his expressive range already were apparent on ballads like the great “Color of the Blues” and the jumping “Nothing Can Stop My Loving You.” Another 1958 recording, “I’m Ragged But I’m Right,” finds Jones showing off on a song that’s been a well-loved part of his repertoire from the start of his career. His 1960 recordings find him in an exceptionally playful mood. He stretches and snaps words on the outstanding “Too Much Water,” and the way he exaggerates and amplifies certain words throughout “Big Harlan Taylor” is completely diifferent than any previously recorded studio recording. His cut-up style of stage humor also flares early on, as shown in his introduction to the mournful “Accidentally On Purpose,” a new release at the time that he describes as “our brand new escape from Mercury Records.” The selections also include thrilling versions of such classics as “White Lightning,” “The Race Is On,” “She Things I Still Care” and “Walk Through This World With Me,” the latter recorded two weeks before his marriage to Tammy Wynette in February 1969. The Louisiana Hayride ranked right behind the Grand Ole Opry as one of the most popular live country music radio programs of its era. Broadcast at 50,000 watts by KWKH from Shreveport’s Municipal Auditorium, the Hayride drew sold-out crowds of 3,800 to its Saturday broadcasts. The show was a fixture in the homes of countless country fans across the Mid-South and Southwest. Every third Saturday, the Hayride went national over the CBS radio network. It also gave early boosts to many top stars, including Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Webb Pierce, Faron Young, Johnny Horton and Jim Reeves. |
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| GEORGE JONES: Live Recordings from the Lousiana Hayride Release date: March 9, 2004 Emergent/Scena (RED) Track List & Liner Notes You Gotta Be My Baby 6/23/56 Color Of The Blues 7/12/58 Nothing Can Stop My Loving You 7/19/58 I'm Ragged But I'm Right 8/16/58 Too Much Water 2/27/60 Accidently On Purpose 2/27/60 Big Harlan Taylor 2/27/60 Don't Stop The Music 2/27/60 White Lightning 2/3/68 Things Have Gone To Pieces 2/3/68 The Race Is On 2/3/68 Say It's Not You 2/3/68 She Thinks I Still Care 2/3/68 You Better Treat Your Man Right 2/3/68 Walk Through This World With Me 2/1/69 When The Grass Grows Over Me 2/1/69 George Jones - Louisiana Hayride – liner notes by Paul Kingsbury He’s the King of Broken Hearts. That’s the fitting title pioneering country-rocker Gram Parsons gave him. Many others have simply called him the greatest country singer who ever lived. No one who loves country music would argue with that. During a 50-year recording career, George Jones has forged an unmistakable note-bending vocal style, complete with a prodigious range that smoothly encompasses deep rumbling bass and towering tenor. His singing is the very essence of country music. But the classic George Jones style that characterizes his biggest hits didn’t come to him immediately. It evolved over time. In fact, at his first recording session for Starday Records in January 1954, record producer Pappy Daily said to him in exasperation at one point: "George, for the last few hours you’ve sung like Roy Acuff, Lefty Frizzell, Hank Williams and Bill Monroe. Can you sing like George Jones?" In time, he certainly did. This CD captures George Jones live and onstage when he was developing his style. It collects 16 rare radio performances at the Louisiana Hayride, a coveted showcase in those days. Broadcasting at 50,000 watts from Shreveport’s KWKH, the Saturday-night program was a fixture in the homes of countless country fans across the Mid-South and Southwest. It was the second most popular radio show in country music next to the Grand Ole Opry when Jones’ career was taking flight. In addition to its vast audience at home, the Hayride had a studio audience of some 3,800 who flocked each Saturday night to downtown Shreveport’s Municipal Auditorium to see the variety show’s star-studded lineup of regulars and guests. The tracks on this set span Jones’ stints with his first four record labels—Starday, Mercury, United Artists and Musicor—and the tracks are arranged in chronological order, from a June 1956 appearance, when Jones was a 24-year-old newcomer, to two tracks from 1969 when, at the age of 37, he was beginning to be recognized as country music’s greatest singer—and biggest disappointment when alcohol got the better of him. "You Gotta Be My Baby," the first recording in this set, comes from June 23, 1956. Louisiana Hayride producer and MC Horace Logan provides the introduction. Jones was no stranger to the Hayride, having joined the regular cast the previous December. "You Gotta Be My Baby" was released the week after the show as his next single on Starday Records, and it became his third to hit the country charts, peaking at #7. In August 1956, Jones moved from the Hayride to cast membership at the Grand Ole Opry. Nevertheless, he continued to make occasional appearances at the Hayride through the years as his tours crisscrossed the country. On two successive Saturdays in July 1958, he came to the Hayride singing "The Color of the Blues" and "Nothing Can Stop My Loving You," both of which were 1958 singles for Jones’ new label, Mercury Records. "Color of the Blues" hit #7 on the charts. Incidentally, Faron Young’s introduction to "Nothing Can Stop My Loving You" serves as a reminder that in his early days George Jones wrote or cowrote many of his songs, including "Color of the Blues" and "Nothing Can Stop My Loving You." A month later, Jones returned doing an old traditional blues and country standard, "I’m Ragged But Right," which he had cut for Starday back in 1956. Jones’ two sons—Jeffrey (2) and Bryan (1 month)—were just toddlers in August 1958, so the lyric about "a little baby boy to play around at my feet" must have felt tailor made for him. On February 27, 1960, Jones was back at the Hayride, introduced by announcer Frank Page. Four songs from that night are collected here. "Accidentally on Purpose" was Jones’ latest Mercury release (or "escape," as he jokingly refers to it on air), which eventually hit #16 on the country charts. "Big Harlan Taylor," a Roger Miller composition, was Jones’ previous single, a #19 hit. And "Don’t Stop the Music" and "Too Much Water" were 1957 singles on Mercury that hit #10 and #13, respectively. By the time Jones returned to Shreveport on February 3, 1968, changes were afoot. He was only months away from divorcing Shirley Corley Jones, his wife since 1954 and the mother of his two sons. Also by this time he was with a new record label, Musicor, though still produced by Pappy Daily, who had produced his records and guided his career from the very beginning. Jones performed six numbers that February night, including three of his all-time most popular songs: "White Lightning," his first #1 from 1959; "The Race Is On," a #3 from 1964; and "She Thinks I Still Care," his third #1, from 1962. "Things Have Gone to Pieces," written by the great tunesmith Leon Payne, had been a #9 hit for Jones in 1965 (his first for Musicor), while "You Better Treat Your Man Right" had been a 1964 single on the Mercury label. "Say It’s Not You" was Jones’ latest single for Musicor at the time, destined to hit #8 on the charts. (Interestingly, this little remembered Dallas Frazier composition was the one that Rolling Stone guitarist Keith Richards insisted on cutting with Jones for the Possum’s 1994 duet album, The Bradley Barn Sessions.) When Jones returned to the Municipal Auditorium in February 1969, it was just two weeks before his impending marriage to new wife Tammy Wynette, and as he sang his 1967 #1 hit "Walk Through This World with Me," that romantic song must have had special meaning for him. He also performed his latest single that night, "When the Grass Grows Over Me," which became a #2 hit for him. Jones would continue to wrestle with the demons of alcohol and drugs through the ’70s and into the ’80s. His business relationship with producer Pappy Daily ended in 1971 when Jones bought out his Musicor contract to join Tammy Wynette at Epic Records. His marriage to Wynette would end in 1975. Yet somehow Jones and Epic producer Billy Sherrill managed to get one great performance after another on record, including "He Stopped Loving Her Today," which won him two straight CMA Male Vocalist of the Year Awards in 1980-81, Single of the Year, and two straight Song of the Year Awards as well as a 1980 Grammy. In 1983 Jones married Nancy Sepulveda, and with her determined help he turned his life around. His election to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992 was inevitable, long overdue capstone to a monumental career. Today George Jones’ vocal performances are the gold standard by which country music singers are judged. These historic live performances show a young virtuoso in the making, refining his craft, taking chances and setting those standards. - Paul Kingsbury Kay Clary COMMOTION PR 615.467.6677 kay@commotionpr.com |
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