Country History X: The George Jones Drug Tapes (#1)

[@toddandangelbrowning2920]

Roy Acuff once said that George was the only man he ever knew that tried to destroy himself and couldn’t do it.

[@GinBacall]

Wow. Now that's a powerful statement!

[@jamiecorstorphine1271]

"Sir, you are drunk! ...... "NO SIR!" Nobody can ever come close to filling George's shoes. Still missed every day. 😢🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@troyburch1233]

He died sober... Rest in piece Gorege Jones!!!

[@mechcavandy986]

I’d say that’s a big WIN! 🤠🤠

[@historybuff9276]

I love REAL COUNTRY music, (sometime in the 90s it got lost between POP & sort rock & hasn't been seen since) George Jones's "Who's Going To Fill Their Shoes" (to me) was not just a song but a foreboding glimpse into the future of Country music. The world could really us a George Jones,Cash,Jennings & a Hank SR.these days.

[@johncopperthwaite4026]

I totally agree thank god for the likes of merle haggard sons and whey Jennings there keeping real country alive

[@kevinknight8889]

Tyler Childers Arlo Mckinney Billy Strings There's some others..but off the top of my head..here's a few real ones

[@LittleKaizer101]

Garth Brooks killed Country Music

[@SuzyQ1956]

@@LittleKaizer101 one of the most overrated ever, aside from maybe- The Dance. Never understood why people thought he was so great.

[@alexbleks]

So mofo true!!!!

[@tunnasch]

I very much appreciate your approach to your podcast - no self-indulgent prattle. You get right into the history. I'm looking forward to this series.

[@jayglanville8585]

Great start to the podcast!

[@wildestcowboy2668]

I still live in the house beside of George Jones prior muscle shoals Alabama home! I was a kid be he was always nice to me.

[@mighty300il6]

His alcohol and drug use is legendary. Seriously I really don't know why his liver didn't say screw this i quit!!! How he lived into his 80s is mind boggling.

[@wildestcowboy2668]

He had VERY good doctors son

[@nickthomas6827]

Good genes can cut you a lot of breaks.

[@mighty300il6]

@@nickthomas6827 obviously 😆 😂 😆 😂 😆 😂 😆

[@atfourothirtythree]

A mix of luck fate and a healthy constitution But a big part to his reaching 81 was his wife Nancy. He would have died younger had it not been for her

[@Singersavannah0]

Plus his father was a hard drinker too.

[@danielemarini2169]

Awesome! a real good start, best of luck with it Trig

[@BamaFanUSMC]

At one point the manager got George hooked on Coke. The guy had connection to some Mafia types. George Jones book is a crazy but great book. Definitely read it.

[@gatt2b]

There's a video of him telling the story on KZbin

[@corrodosoprano9667]

I got to see George in concert about a dozen times in the 80's & 90's . He was the greatest country singer of all time. The sad part about this is the lawyers will drag this out until they are the only ones getting paid. I'd like to see George's sons get the money not some crooked attorneys.

[@jerrychambers7267]

Never got the chance to see him live

[@jerrychambers7267]

Nothing better once you’ve hade the best!

[@kristybarker924]

Georgette should get some too.

[@darkspar72]

My parents attended three or four of his concerts in the 80s and never saw him once.

[@oldhef9927]

That old boy was just the way he was that's why he was one of the kings of country music and always will be 😊

[@smokeyjoe1953]

Saw George & Tammy in concert in 1969 or 70. Tammy opened and filled until George arrived. I got both their autographs as they were getting in their limo.

[@metalEric69]

WOW! I was born July of 69.

[@smokeyjoe1953]

@@metalEric69 I know…….. I’m older than dirt….

[@gatt2b]

You want to sell them?

[@gatt2b]

Wow this is a good story I'd never heard before ya know, George Jones was like a family member to all of his fans because we felt his songs where he wrote and sang them from The Heart we can never reach out and touch him again but George Jones touches us every time we hear one of his songs

[@KLUNKET]

Arguably? There is no argument about it- the man lived 100 times harder than even Hank Williams, and it took Hank from us at the age of 29. Jones epic drug and alcohol abuse made a lot of even of the most notorious hardcore rockers look like school girls. The fact that he came through that and could still walk and talk, let alone sing like he did was nothing short of a miracle. One addiction specialist told Mrs Jones that the fact that his memory was still mostly intact was medically impossible- so it could ONLY be a devine intervention. "God must of wanted Jones to keep singing" he told her.

[@MarkLada]

Ol' George could party down with the best of them, but I think Jesco White and the whole White family probably made George look like a Girl Scout at Sunday school..

[@cynthianaslim]

You can open any page in his biography, I lived to tell it all, and read some instance in which George is royally messing himself up. It's incredible.

[@KLUNKET]

@@cynthianaslim When that book was released, I got a hardback copy at Waldenbooks in our local mall, got in the car to leave but decided to glance over the first page before I started the car... I sat there for a long time and read the first chapter right there in the parking lot, the shock value was there immediately starting on the first page- you just couldn't set that book down! It starts off if I remember right with Jones finding one of his CMA awards at a garage sale... Because he had probably traded it for booze or drugs. That book was a NY TImes #1 best seller immediately after its release! I saw an interview with Jones promoting the book on Ralph Emery's show around that time, and Jones said "there was a bunch of stuff we just couldn't fit in there, so maybe we'll do another" and I thought "REALLY?? THERE IS MORE??" haha. Jones released an album to go along with the release of the book also called "I lived to Tell it All" that was so damned good that it would give me chills as I listened- still does!

[@cynthianaslim]

@@KLUNKET Wow! I'll have to check it out! I'm searching for his exact words I think on his opinions on those early Starday records. He said something to the affect of "We would do a verse, a chorus, another verse, chorus, then tag it with a fiddle. And they said, 'don't worry, George. They won't notice it.' Well, maybe they did notice it because they didn't sell." Or something like that. Always thought that was funny.

[@peterbetts858]

lived harder than hank senior . buddy i dont know about that .i know georges story .i am a massive fan . i saw him 5 times between 1983 n 2005 . but hank lived out in the 40 s n 50 s . times were harder back the n .he was travelling in cars more so than buses .hotels were better in georges time . food etc. Hank was a hard drinker with a drug problem too . George went hard ,but you cant diminish Hank sr . to not comparable . 100x? ? medically impossible .well ole George broke all those rules too . i guess .

[@BamaFanUSMC]

George lived in north Alabama at the time. He would drive to Nashville, pull into Tammy's driveway, and then drive back to Alabama. He did this all day long, while drinking.... Tammy really tore his heart up something good. But Nancy saved him for sure!! I've read his book 5 times, and joined the Marines bc George was a Marine. While stationed in Okinawa, I got drunk that afternoon and got No Show tattooed on my arm.

[@metalEric69]

Hell yeah!!!

[@brianflynn7598]

Grew up in a Southern Baptist home but George Jones was almost consider a Saint by my family

[@peterbetts858]

oow.

[@historybuff9276]

Damn! I cant wait to hear whats on those masters.

[@dorisbeeler7666]

Love this want to hear them all

[@kityss2085]

Interesting! I wonder if these will be released in my lifetime. On to episode 2...

[@backwoodsbumpkin5268]

Jones was real and admitted to his problems and mistakes. A real man. The best... period

[@troyleong7412]

Wow....this is very COOL!!!!!! Can't wait to hear the upcoming George Jones music.

[@kenandersson5643]

Wow, what a story.

[@johndeere8594]

The possum was something else. I saw interviews that said George loved to buy pickup trucks,his road manager said he would come up missing while on tour and they would find him several miles away not knowing how he got there. Only to find out later that he would leave and go to a dealership and buy a brand new pickup truck and then loose it somewhere.Or give it away.

[@TheDarmardar]

thanks very interesting.....

[@alabamarabbit1971]

I'd love to hear them tapes

[@TheRecordNut]

The tapes that are the topic of this video have been circulating since the late 1970's, being issued/bootlegged on every compilation label that wanted to use them. Here is one of the tracks from one of said tapes kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXvXkndnd9SrgdU

[@RS-vj1co]

That recording is not from the 60’s

[@bandpassmess]

March 23 2002 POSSUM GAVE A FREE CONCERT at our local EXPO CENTER. I had no idea 🤷‍♂️ it was going down, I was driving a taxi 🚕 for a living . Call Best West time call Going to Expo 5 passengers pilled in DRUNK FEELING NO PAIN, we’re going to GEORGE JONES CONCERT 🎶 I NOTICED HEAVY TRAFFIC 3 miles out THEN IT CAME TO A STAND STILL 1 mile out , then people started fighting to cut inline during traffic jam cussing obscene gestures beer cans . YEP ALL THIS OVER THE POSSUMS CONCERT HERE COMES FIRE 🔥 TRUCKS 🛻 THEN THE POLICE 👮‍♂️ IT WAS AN EXPERIENCE ILL NEVER FORGET. 😂😂😂😂 🪦 RIP MR JONES

[@andrewbowen6875]

Blaze Foley had stuff released long after his death from tapes I think

[@TheEddie1025]

The more i hear about possum the more i see me. kinda sad but funny af too.

[@markdeweese9288]

He may have done this to keep the songs he wrote copyrighted and just thought we might as well cut what we can cut at the time. Copyrights can run out in 10 year period. 😅

[@kristybarker924]

Where is the rest of the story? George and Tammy?

[@evanerka]

Anyone else singing the songs in their head after hearing the titles.....?

[@frankdodgee]

There was only ONE lawnmower incident. George said so himself. It was when he was married to Shirley. He was too much of a gentleman to tell everyone Tammy lied!

[@gigip.2458]

WATCH GEORGE & TAMMY ON SHOWTIME- THEIR DAUGHTER SAW THIS SERIES MADE & YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED! BTW, GEORGE WAS SOBER LONG BEFORE HE PASSED & HE DID NOT WRITE THE SONGS BUT HE SURE MADE THEM HIS WHEN HE SANG THEM! ALSO, HE HATED THE SONG " HE STOPPED LOVING HER TODAY" IT WAS TOO SAD HE SAID. 💜

[@jamiecorstorphine1271]

His exact words were, "nobody's going to buy that morbid son of a bitch"

[@JohnnySmith-no2zc]

​@@jamiecorstorphine1271 I'd buy it Jamie😂

[@lydiecakes3337]

It was SO good. ❤

[@coophandluke3697]

The GOAT!!!!!

[@SuzyQ1956]

I want to hear the tapes so bad! Money should go to sons.

[@alabamarabbit1971]

...furthermore, always think it's fucked up thinking to tackle drug and pill abuse by landing him in a mental hospital, UK approach was not much better at the time

[@glasshalffull8471]

Most of the best music stars are druggies, there must be something in them drugs, George, Tammy, Elvis, Jerry Lee, Whitney, MJ and Prince are just a few that comes to mind, they didn't help me much but were sure good fun at the time.

[@79tazman]

My uncle use to drive the old tractor to the beer store when he had a suspended license he even brought me fishing a couple times with the tractor and if he got too drunk I would drive the tractor lol!

[@davebunnell1105]

He had a cardboard license plate Possum3. He was rich. What was he thinking? That's crazy as hell. LOL.

[@allengainous8932]

Somebody was always stealing his license plates back in those days

[@sherrymartin2486]

😅😅 that's what I thought!!

[@jeremywanner4526]

The possum king!!

[@TheEddie1025]

this guy doesnt shut up does he? oh wait.. i forgot i was the one who clicked on the video.. also, video is accurate and good. thanks for the content.

[@placidcasual9872]

There is little difference between Georges IQ and his shoe size.

[@jinlim6575]

those drug smugglers they let use the tapes as bail were actually the informants...

[@tashathayer4069]

There probably gone by now.

[@LRGDuran]

Dont forget he and Faron Young had a bitter feud. So bad they got into a fight and got his head smashed into the concrete.

[@whiskeycitydiggers]

That's nothing. George squeezed and twisted Porter Wagoner's bare genitals with his bare hands. And he painted KKK on Charley Pride's car.

[@hairlab_dc4417]

Hope this makes it into one of the two biopics currently in production. I also hope that Micheal Shannon and Josh Brolin don't try to sing since neither of them are capable of doing justice to even high-on-Shug Knight-supplied-blow-and three-fifths-of-whiskey George Jones.

[@tashathayer4069]

There voices are pretty deep.. ✌

[@gigip.2458]

MICHAEL SHANNON DID EXCELLENT JOB PLAYING GEORGE & HIS SINGING IS AWESOME!!!!!

[@markdeweese9288]

Florience Albama

[@andrewbowen6875]

It’s nowhere near the greatest country song. May of been the best selling but it doesn’t touch any of his early stuff.