About the Author

George Jones has been called the greatest country singer of our time.  He lives  in Nashville with his wife, Nancy.

Tom Carter has co-authored books with Ralph Emery, Reba McEntire among others.  He lives in Nashville.

Reviews

Having recorded over 250 albums, George Jones is considered by many critics to be the greatest country music singer of all time. He is also a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, having miraculously survived such a massive chemical ingestion that it makes many rockers-of-repute look like mere amateurs. This book effectively combines all three tales: Jones's rise into and maintenance of country stardom, his collapse into addiction, and his painful crawl out of its pit. Jones's writing, colloquial but not corny, captures and holds the reader easily. While the primary focus is on Jones's career and conflicts, we also see much of both the country music world as a whole and many of its most prominent individual figures. This is a truly remarkable story of an individual's battle with and triumph over chemical addiction‘musician or not. As such, it is strongly recommended for any collection in this area as well as for popular music collections. Don't miss this book.‘Bill Piekarski, Southwestern Coll. Lib., Chula Vista, Cal.

Country music star Jones started performing in rural Texas bars when he was 14 and rose to fame in spite of heavy drinking, drugging, brawling and a penchant for not showing up at his concerts. Writing with Carter, coauthor of books with Ralph Emery, Reba McEntire and others, he lays bare his troubled past, including an account of his disastrous marriage to country singer Tammy Wynette. It's not a pleasant story, and Jones himself is amazed that his career has prospered in spite of everything he has done to destroy it. Now 65 and recovered from a triple bypass operation, he claims he has conquered his addictions and settled into a happy marriage. There are no insights here about his musical abilities or the reasons for his success, but Jones makes sobering comments on the state of country music today, which he observes is mass-marketed and mass-produced for the young with total disregard for the older performers like himself who started it all. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)