Born in Texas, Jones first heard country music when he was seven, and was given a guitar at the age of nine. He married his first wife, Dorothy Bonvillion, in 1950, and was divorced in 1951. He served in the United States Marine Corps and was discharged in 1953. He married Shirley Ann Corley in 1954. In 1959, Jones recorded "White Lightning", written by J. P. Richardson, which launched his career as a singer. His second marriage ended in divorce in 1968; he married fellow country music singer Tammy Wynette a year later. Years of alcoholism compromised his health and led to his missing many performances, earning him the nickname "No Show Jones". After his divorce from Wynette in 1975, Jones married his fourth wife, Nancy Sepulvado, in 1983 and became sober for good in 1999. Jones died in 2013, aged 81, from hypoxic respiratory failure.
George Jones has been called "The Rolls Royce Of Country Music" and had more than 160 chart singles to his name from 1955 until his death in 2013. Johnny Cash once said, "When people ask me who my favorite country singer is, I say, 'You mean besides George Jones?'"
Jones tirelessly defended the integrity of country music, telling Billboard in 2006, "It's never been for love of money. I thank God for it because it makes me a living. But I sing because I love it, not because of the dollar signs." Jones also went out of his way to promote younger country singers that he felt were as passionate about the music as he was. "Everybody knows he's a great singer," Alan Jackson stated in 1995, "but what I like most about George is that when you meet him, he is like some old guy that works down at the gas station...even though he's a legend!"
Shortly after Jones' death, Andrew Mueller wrote about his influence in Uncut, "He was one of the finest interpretive singers who ever lifted a microphone...There cannot be a single country songwriter of the last 50-odd years who has not wondered what it might be like to hear their words sung by that voice." In an article for The Texas Monthly in 1994, Nick Tosches eloquently described the singer's vocal style: "While he and his idol, Hank Williams, have both affected generations with a plaintive veracity of voice that has set them apart, Jones has an additional gift—a voice of exceptional range, natural elegance, and lucent tone. Gliding toward high tenor, plunging toward deep bass, the magisterial portamento of his onward-coursing baritone emits white-hot sparks and torrents of blue, investing his poison love songs with a tragic gravity and inflaming his celebrations of the honky-tonk ethos with the hellfire of abandon." In the New Republic essay "Why George Jones ranks with Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday," David Hajdu writes:
"Jones had a handsome and strange voice. His singing was always partly about the appeal of the tones he produced, regardless of the meaning of the words. In this sense, Jones had something in common with singers of formal music and opera, though his means of vocal production were radically different from theirs. He sang from the back of his throat, rather than from deep in his diaphragm. He tightened his larynx to squeeze sound out. He clenched his jaw, instead of wriggling it free. He forced wind through his teeth, and the notes sounded weirdly beautiful."
David Cantwell recalled in 2013, "His approach to singing, he told me once, was to call up those memories and feelings of his own that most closely corresponded to those being felt by the character in whatever song he was performing. He was a kind of singing method actor, creating an illusion of the real." In the liner notes to Essential George Jones: The Spirit of Country Rich Kienzle states, "Jones sings of people and stories that are achingly human. He can turn a ballad into a catharsis by wringing every possible emotion from it, making it a primal, strangled cry of anguish". In 1994, country music historian Colin Escott pronounced, "Contemporary country music is virtually founded on reverence for George Jones. Walk through a room of country singers and conduct a quick poll, George nearly always tops it." In the wake of Jones's death, Merle Haggard pronounced in Rolling Stone, "His voice was like a Stradivarius violin: one of the greatest instruments ever made." Emmylou Harris wrote, "when you hear George Jones sing, you are hearing a man who takes a song and makes it a work of art - always," a quote that appeared on the sleeve of Jones' 1976 album The Battle. In the documentary Same Ole Me, several country music stars offer similar thoughts. Randy Travis: "It sounds like he's lived every minute of every word that he sings and there's very few people who can do that"; Tom T. Hall: "It was always Jones who got the message across just right"; and Roy Acuff: "I'd give anything if I could sing like George Jones". In the same film, producer Billy Sherrill states, "All I did was change the instrumentation around him. I don't think he's changed at all."
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed George Jones among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
Beacon In The Night
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The under tow of evil has pulled so many in
Tonight the troubled ways of sorrow fill our hearts with pride
And we're so blind that we can't see the beacon in the night.
The beacon in the night is always shinin'
And darkest clouds can have a silver linin'
Just set your torch for glory then don't turn left or right
When the mist of wickedness conceals the beacon's light
And you're driftin' through the fog somewhere out in the night
The one who whispers peace be still and calms the raging sea
He is the beacon in the night, He'll rescue you and me.
The beacon in the night is always shinin'
And storm clouds can have a silver linin'
So set your course for glory and don't turn left or right
Be guided straight to Heaven by the beacon in the night
In “Beacon in the Night,” George Jones sings about the struggles of life and how we often get lost in sin and despair. The song talks about how many people are adrift in the sea of sin and are struggling to find their way. The "under tow of evil" has dragged so many people under, leaving them lost and without direction. The lyrics suggest that in these times of trouble, we often fail to see the "beacon in the night," which represents the hope and guidance that God offers us in difficult times.
The chorus of the song serves as a reminder that this "beacon in the night" is always shining and can guide us through the darkest moments in life. It encourages us to set our course for glory and to stay focused on our path without getting sidetracked by the distractions of the world. Even when the "mist of wickedness" conceals the beacon's light and we're lost in the fog of life, the one who offers us peace and calms the turbulence is the same "beacon in the night" that will rescue us.
Overall, "Beacon in the Night" is a reminder that in life's darkest moments, we should keep our eyes focused on the hope that God offers us, no matter how difficult things may seem.
Line by Line Meaning
Many souls are driftin' on the troubled sea of sin
Numerous individuals are lost in the sea of wrongdoing
The under tow of evil has pulled so many in
The negative side of human nature has caused people to give in to sin
Tonight the troubled ways of sorrow fill our hearts with pride
At this moment, our hearts are filled with pride and sadness
And we're so blind that we can't see the beacon in the night.
We are so blinded by our problems that we are unaware of the solution
The beacon in the night is always shinin'
There is always light in the darkness
And darkest clouds can have a silver linin'
Even the worst situations can have a positive outcome
Just set your torch for glory then don't turn left or right
Stay focused on the end goal and don't get distracted
Heavens shore is lighted by the beacon in the night.
The path to heaven is illuminated by the solution to our problems
When the mist of wickedness conceals the beacon's light
Evil can sometimes overshadow the solution to our problems
And you're driftin' through the fog somewhere out in the night
When you are lost and confused, without any direction
The one who whispers peace be still and calms the raging sea
The one who can calm your troubles and provide peace
He is the beacon in the night, He'll rescue you and me.
He is the solution to our problems and will save us
Storm clouds can have a silver linin'
Even in the midst of a storm, there can be a positive aspect
So set your course for glory and don't turn left or right
Stay focused on your goal and don't get distracted
Be guided straight to Heaven by the beacon in the night
Follow the solution to your problems and you will find your way to heaven
Lyrics © GLAD MUSIC CO., BMG Rights Management
Written by: DARRELL EDWARDS, HERBIE TREECE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind