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.
Shine On
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And chances are you'll never see her on the silver screen
She's by far the biggest star the world will never see
But she don't shine for the rest of the world she's too busy shinin' for me
Shine on shine on shine on though the world may never see
Oh my baby won't you shine on shine on shine all your sweet love on me
She won't be asked for autographs like all the movie stars
But in her jeans she's the sexy dream that they'd all like to be
But she don't shine for the rest of the world she's too busy shinin' for me
Shine on shine on shine on
George Jones's song "Shine On" is a beautiful ode to a partner who may not be the centerfold of Playboy magazine or on the silver screen, but is still the biggest star, in her partner's eyes. The song talks about how she doesn't need the validation of the world because she is too busy shining for her lover. The lyrics celebrate the understated beauty, sex appeal, and shimmery love that the partner exudes.
The opening lines suggest that the person the song talks about is not someone who would fit the stereotypical definition of beauty - the centerfold of a magazine or a movie star. However, the singer asserts that she is the biggest star, despite this. The second stanza and the reference to Paris fashion further reinforce the idea that she's not someone who would typically shine in the public eye. However, her lover finds her sexy, stylish, and inspiring, and she shines on him. It's interesting to unpack this notion of the person shining on someone else, being a star for someone else, and not looking for validation from the world.
The chorus, "shine on though the world may never see, Oh my baby won't you shine on shine on shine all your sweet love on me" encapsulates the sentiment of the song. The singer is happy with the way his partner shines on him, and that's all that matters. The idea that the world may never see the partner shining is fascinating because it underlines the idea that we may not always see how the people we love shine; it's a private, emotional, and intimate experience.
Line by Line Meaning
She'll never grace the centerfold of Playboy magazine
My love may not be considered conventionally beautiful by societal standards
And chances are you'll never see her on the silver screen
It is unlikely that my love will be famous or recognized on a grand scale
She's by far the biggest star the world will never see
Despite her lack of fame, my love shines brighter than any celebrity could
But she don't shine for the rest of the world she's too busy shinin' for me
My love's attention is solely focused on shining her light on me and our relationship, rather than seeking fame or validation from the world
Shine on shine on shine on though the world may never see
I am enamored by the light my love shines, even if the rest of the world cannot see it
Oh my baby won't you shine on shine on shine all your sweet love on me
I am grateful for my love's bright aura, and ask that she continues to share her love and light with me
She won't be asked for autographs like all the movie stars
My love will not be recognized and praised in the same way as movie stars
She won't wear Paris fashions or ride in chauffeured cars
Celebrity perks and luxuries are not of importance to my love
But in her jeans she's the sexy dream that they'd all like to be
Despite her lack of fame, my love is still desired and attractive to others
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB MORRISON, JOHNNY MAC RAE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind