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.
Radio Lover
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, he hates to leave her, but he's got another show to do.
He knows she gets lonely, so he lets her know that he's thinking about her.
And though millions are listening, she knows who he's talking to.
[Chorus]
Comin' to you live like I do every night
From the heart of your radio.
And a few ol' cheatin' songs.
Here's hopin' everybody out in radio land
Found a love just as true as mine
Good night angel, sleep tight darlin'
Close your pretty brown eyes.
When the show is over,
Your radio lover
Will be home by your side.
She's laying in bed as her DJ tells her that he loves her.
It would break his heart if he knew she wasn't there alone.
She knows when to cheat and when to tell her lover to leave her.
She knows they'll be safe just as long as his show goes on.
He planned a surprise for the night of their first anniversary.
He taped his show just so he could be home.
The radio was playing and, as he walked in on her and her lover,
He heard himself saying the last words that they ever heard.
The lyrics of George Jones's song "Radio Lover" depict the life of a radio disc jockey who loves his job but hates to leave his lover behind to perform his duties. He knows his lover gets lonely, so he talks to her on the radio, letting her know that he thinks about her even amidst millions of listeners. The DJ's lover also knows when to cheat on him with her lover and when to tell her lover to leave her, just as long as the show goes on.
The chorus reinforces the fact that the DJ's radio show is his life, and he plays songs to express his emotions, including sad, glad, and cheating songs. The DJ's love for his partner is evident in his dedication to his radio show, which provides for them financially. He even has a special surprise planned for their first anniversary, but it ends tragically when he walks in on his lover and her lover, and the last thing they hear before things go awry is the DJ's voice playing on the radio.
"Radio Lover" is an introspective song that portrays the consequences of a life dedicated to one's work, especially a job that involves connecting with people on a large scale. It underscores the struggle to find balance between work and personal life, dealing with infidelity, and the consequences that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
He kisses her goodbye, and heads for the radio station.
He kisses his lover goodbye and leaves for his job as a radio host.
Oh, he hates to leave her, but he's got another show to do.
Although he doesn't want to leave his lover, he has to go to work.
He knows she gets lonely, so he lets her know that he's thinking about her.
He is aware that his lover feels lonely and he makes an effort to show her that he cares.
And though millions are listening, she knows who he's talking to.
Although many people are tuned in to his radio show, the DJ's lover knows that he is speaking directly to her.
[Chorus] Comin' to you live like I do every night From the heart of your radio. I play a little sad, and I play a lotta glad. And a few ol' cheatin' songs.
The DJ is speaking directly to his listeners through the radio, playing a mix of sad, happy, and even cheating-related songs.
Here's hopin' everybody out in radio land Found a love just as true as mine Good night angel, sleep tight darlin' Close your pretty brown eyes.
The DJ wishes his listeners luck in finding a love as genuine as his own and bids his lover goodnight.
When the show is over, Your radio lover Will be home by your side.
After his radio show finishes, the DJ will be back home with his lover.
She's laying in bed as her DJ tells her that he loves her.
His lover is in bed listening to the DJ express his love for her on the radio.
It would break his heart if he knew she wasn't there alone.
If he found out she was not alone, it would deeply hurt the DJ's feelings.
She knows when to cheat and when to tell her lover to leave her.
His lover knows the right time to be with someone else and when to end it with them so that they will not get caught.
She knows they'll be safe just as long as his show goes on.
As long as the DJ's show is on, they know they are not likely to be caught.
He planned a surprise for the night of their first anniversary.
The DJ arranged a surprise for his lover to celebrate their first anniversary.
He taped his show just so he could be home.
The DJ pre-recorded his show so that he could be home with his lover on their anniversary.
The radio was playing and, as he walked in on her and her lover,
As the DJ arrived home, the radio was on, and he caught his lover with another person.
He heard himself saying the last words that they ever heard.
The DJ's last words on the pre-recorded show played as he caught his lover cheating for the last time.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BUCKY JONES, CLAUDE PUTMAN JR., CURLY PUTMAN, KENNETH EUGENE JONES, RON HELLARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mark Cheek
It's easy to see why George Jones is and was a legend in country music, nobody could bring out a sad song like George Jones.
Paul Jones
George Jones is LEGEND....he set all the standards in country!!!
alamanderflash
A truly chilling song, one of my all time favorites.
George_Jones_Fan
George Jones is without a shadow of a doubt the greatest singer who has ever lived.
Chase Freeman
George is truly the greatest country singer that ever lived. He hasn't sang a bad song.
April Schmidt
I grew up listening to Grorge and the rest of the old country music and everytime I hear them it takes me back!!Can't beat the old country songs!! They will live in my heart FOREVER!
Lena Auger
Always have been the best always will be, there's no one that will ever sing like George
Gwen Weaver
This is a great George Jones song that I've never heard. He's the greatest!!!
David Bishop
This is country gold!! I grew up listening to this music and my kids one day will grow up on this as well.
Leonard James
I LOVE George Jones... If I listen to him I cant stop.