With iconic hits like “He Stopped Loving Her Immediately,” “The Race is On” and “I Don’t Want Your Rockin’ Chair,” George Jones’ influence on nation music has continued to be felt greater than a decade after his passing. A member of the Nation Music Corridor of Fame, George Jones offered over 20 million albums and scored 143 high 40 hits throughout his profession, together with 14 No. 1s.
He was a Nationwide Medal of the Arts recipient, Kennedy Middle honoree and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Now, followers are studying extra about his life in Playin’ Possum: My Recollections of George Jones, a brand new e book (accessible now) by his spouse, Nancy Jones. Nicknamed “The Possum,” for the form of his nostril and face, George and Nancy have been married 30 years earlier than he died of respiratory failure on April 26, 2013 at age 81.
Written with Ken Abraham, Nancy Jones chronicles the ups and downs of their tumultuous marriage, in addition to her close to deadly bout with Covid within the new memoir. George’s battles with medicine and alcohol have been documented within the media through the years, however Nancy admits she was nonetheless reluctant to share the intimate particulars of their life. “The toughest half was to inform what George put me via,” Nancy admits to Girl’s World. “I didn’t need anyone to know that, not till I obtained all of these demons out of him as a result of he was such a beautiful, candy man,” she says. “He was very caring and lovable, however when he would get on that silly ingesting and medicines, he become an individual that I didn’t even know.”
Nancy and George Jones’ tumultuous love story
Within the e book, Nancy Jones chronicles George’s verbal and bodily abuse, together with the instances he’d get indignant and kick her off the tour bus, leaving her on the facet of the highway. “I’ve labored with a variety of delicate initiatives, however going again via these years and replaying these tales the place George was simply imply to Nancy, that was troublesome,” Abraham says of collaborating with Nancy Jones on the e book.
“Her eyes would fill with tears, and I didn’t need to drag her via that once more, however but that was an essential a part of the story as a result of she endured that. Tammy Wynette [who had been previously married to Jones] sang about standing by your man, however Nancy actually did it,” says Abraham. “So going again via these troublesome instances with Nancy, typically it felt like taking a knife over a wound that hasn’t had an opportunity to heal but, however Nancy was keen to do this. I recognize her willingness to put her coronary heart on the market on the desk.”
Nancy says that George grew to become a completely totally different individual when he was underneath the affect. “I assumed it was fascinating when Nancy seen that the sound of his voice would even change,” Abraham continues. “It could tackle a gravelly type of tone that actually wasn’t George at any time when he would get into that cocaine and alcohol match. There was one thing extra occurring there than simply medicine and alcohol that’s for positive.”
Turning to her religion
Nancy credit God with serving to her survive the arduous instances through the years George battled habit. “There’s no means I might have performed this with out the Lord Jesus Christ,” Nancy says. “I’ll at all times imagine that and I do know that in my coronary heart. I look again and bear in mind issues once I was a toddler. My mother was very imply, and I used to suppose, ‘Why was my mother this manner? I don’t perceive this,’ however now that I’m older, I believe God was getting ready me for George. He was making me a powerful individual. That was the job God gave me to do, and I wasn’t backing down. I needed to do what God had despatched me on this earth to do and that was to get this man to heaven. George was a really non secular man and I simply needed to get these demons away from him.”
Nancy knew the true George was man and felt known as to stick with him. “Nothing about it was simple, however the good days in my life have been outweighing the unhealthy days and that’s why I used to be preventing so arduous as a result of I knew there was man in there. I needed to get these demons out and I do know that these demons would have beloved to have killed me, however with the assistance of God, I by no means let these demons get to me. I knew that I needed to struggle for this man, and I really feel like God put me on this earth to do that. That was why for 32 years I stayed with a person that I knew was actually man,” Nancy says of the 2 years they dated and the 30 years they have been married.
The second that modified all of it
On March 6, 1999, Jones was driving drunk when he had a close to deadly automobile accident. Afterwards, he lastly obtained sober and stayed sober. Within the e book, Nancy remembers listening to George pray to God, and though he had tried to give up many instances earlier than, this time she knew he was completed ingesting for good. “From 1999 till 2013 I obtained an ideal husband,” she says with a smile.
Nancy Jones e book additionally reveals their happiest years
Along with their struggles, Nancy Jones additionally shares within the e book a variety of light-hearted and humorous moments from their time collectively, together with the time he was within the storage, honking the automobile horn and making an attempt to hurry her out so they might go dinner. Nancy got here out and obtained within the automobile practically bare. George didn’t even discover at first. He began driving to the restaurant, and had gotten somewhat means from the home, earlier than he checked out her and realized she wasn’t dressed.
“We really feel our e book is a constructive, uplifting e book,” Abraham says. “We [share] the completely satisfied components of George that individuals didn’t even know, a few of these humorous issues. We additionally speak about his religion and what God did in Nancy and George’s life, and the completely satisfied marriage that they had these years after he obtained off of medication and alcohol. There’s a variety of constructive that we need to put on the market about George Jones.”
Nancy’s near-death expertise gave her braveness
When requested why she felt like proper now was the time to publish Playin’ Possum: My Recollections of George Jones, she admits her near-death expertise fueled her need to share her story. “I had Covid, and I died,” she says. “I had no pulse for 10 to fifteen minutes. I even noticed the sunshine. It was essentially the most stunning factor I’d ever seen in my entire life.”
Nancy continued, “I used to be laying in that hospital mattress for months and months and months. I misplaced all my hair. I misplaced 70% of my proper lung. I used to be all the way down to 92 lbs. I needed to learn to stroll once more, and I used to be simply mendacity there pondering, ‘If I might have died, who was ever going to search out out the true reality about George?’ There’s so many lies on the market. I’m not going to say that he was an angel, however there have been so many lies that weren’t true. I used to be with him for 32 years, married 30 years. Who on the planet would have identified him any higher than me? I needed to place the reality on the market about George Jones, and I didn’t sugar coat something.”
“It’s not your e book, it’s God’s e book”
Nancy admits although it was arduous to stroll these roads once more and inform the reality, there was a higher function. “I didn’t need followers to know what he did to me. I didn’t know need followers to know what I went via as a result of I by no means ever let an individual know what I went via. I at all times had this smiling face like nothing was flawed,” Nancy Jones says, “however then once I didn’t need to do the e book, my enterprise supervisor stored telling me, ‘It’s not your e book, it’s God’s e book.’ That made sense and that’s why I wrote it.”
Nancy continued, “I additionally need to draw folks to Jesus. I would like folks to know that you are able to do unhealthy. You could be on medicine. You are able to do something and if you happen to pray to the great Lord, you’re going to be healed. Should you can imagine within the good Lord, if you happen to can imagine there’s a God, God will put His hand out. He’ll prevent. You’ve simply obtained to go to Him.”
Celebrating George Jones’ legacy: Nonetheless Playin’ Possum
To have fun the e book’s launch and the person himself, superstars together with Brad Paisley, Jelly Roll, Wynonna, Joe Nichols, Hint Adkins and different nation hitmakers on Nonetheless Playin’ Possum: Music and Recollections of George Jones, a tribute live performance hitting theaters for one evening solely on October 17.
“We have now 32 artists on there,” Nancy says of the offered out tribute to her late husband, filmed on the Von Braun Middle in Huntsville, AL final April. The movie is being offered one evening solely in theaters via Fathom Occasions. Tracy Byrd, Joe Nichols, Tracy Lawrence, Justin Moore, Dierks Bentley, Jamey Johnson, Michael Ray, Dillon Carmichael, Tim Watson and plenty of others sang George’s legendary hits through the night, together with Brad Paisley’s efficiency of “He Stopped Loving Her Immediately,” Travis Tritt’s spirited cowl of “The Race is On” (Learn in regards to the new Travis Tritt gospel album right here!) and Tanya Tucker’s rendition of “The Grand Tour.”
“It was simply an honor. I known as all of these folks and never a one stated, ‘No,’” Nancy smiles. “All of them got here to sing a George Jones tune. It was simply one thing else! Everybody must see this present. You want to really feel the love and the way a lot all of them have been singing their hearts out for George.”
Regardless that he not performs since struggling a stroke a decade in the past, Randy Travis made a particular look to honor his pal. The second moved Nancy to tears. “I used to be crying so arduous I assumed I used to be going to go out as a result of my thoughts went to the completely satisfied days when Randy and George would joke round,” Nancy says of their shut friendship. “George would attempt to out sing him, and he’d attempt to out sing George!”
For a listing of theaters nationwide, go to fathomevents.com.
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