50 Years Of Hits
Encyclopedia
50 Years of Hits is a country
album by George Jones
who was signed to Starday Records in 1953, released his first singles in 1954, and had his first hit with "Why Baby Why'" in 1955.
is used here. The inclusion of his 1981 #1 single, "Still Doin' Time", among his mid 1960s hits is an embarrassing error given the CD's pride at presenting one hit from each year or one song from each year that George recorded. That 1981 song should have appeared on Disc 2 between "He Stopped Loving Her Today
" and "Same Ole Me". Instead, on here, we have his 1982 #1 single with Merle Haggard
representing the year 1981, "Yesterday's Wine". "Same Ole Me" was indeed a hit single in early 1982...but it was a hit before the duet material with Merle came along...so there are several songs that appear out of chronological order. The inclusion of a 1979 duet he recorded with Waylon Jennings, "Night Life", appears out of place as it wasn't even a single pushed at radio. The CD should have included "Someday My Day Will Come" instead to represent 1979. "Radio Lover" is another example...that song was recorded in 1983 on the album Jones Country
but Epic Records
released it as a single in 1989 but on here, they have it listed as a 1988 single. The big hit, if you call it that, in 1988 for George was a duet with newcomer Shelby Lynne, "If I Could Bottle This Up", that reached the Top-50 on Top Country Songs but that duet single isn't featured here.
1956 – Just One More
1957 – Tall, Tall Trees
1958 – Color of the Blues
1959 – White Lightning
1960 – Window Up Above
1961 – Tender Years
1962 – She Thinks I Still Care
1963 – You Comb Her Hair
1964 – The Race Is On
1965 – We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds
(with Melba Montgomery)
1981 – Still Doin' Time
Unk – Walk Through This World with Me
(not original 1967 hit version)
1968 – She's Mine
1969 – I'll Share My World with You
1994 – Good Year for the Roses (with Alan Jackson
)
1971 – Take Me (with Tammy Wynette
)
1973 – Once You've Had The Best
1974 – The Grand Tour
1975 – These Days I Barely Get By
1976 – Her Name Is
1977 – Near You
(with Tammy Wynette
)
1978 – Bartender's Blues
1979 – Nightlife (with Waylon Jennings
)
1980 – He Stopped Loving Her Today
1982 – Yesterday's Wine
(with Merle Haggard
)
1982 – Same Ole Me
1983 – I Always Get Lucky with You
1984 – She's My Rock
1985 – Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes
1986 – The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song)
1987 – The Right Left Hand
1988 – Radio Lover
1990 – A Few Ole Country Boys
(with Randy Travis
)
1991 – You Couldn't Get The Picture
1992 – Finally Friday
1993 – I Don't Need Your Rocking Chair
1994 – High Tech Redneck
1995 – One (with Tammy Wynette
)
1996 – I Must Have Done Something Bad
1997 – When Did You Stop Loving Me
1998 – Wild Irish Rose
1999 – Choices
2000 – Cold Hard Truth
2001 – Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?) (with Garth Brooks
)
2002 – 50,000 Names
2003 – I Got Everything
2004 – Amazing Grace
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
album by George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
who was signed to Starday Records in 1953, released his first singles in 1954, and had his first hit with "Why Baby Why'" in 1955.
Album information
Jones has recorded nearly 900 songs and made hundreds of guest appearances on other artists' albums. He continues to record new projects. Billboard Magazine states that George Jones has had more charted singles than any artist in any format of music. This collection features one song per year, representing the actual year that song was released. Most of the time, the song chosen was Jones' biggest hit of that year, but sometimes it was chosen because Jones thought it was his best song that year.Production
All but two of the selections are original recordings. Many of the early Starday songs were rerecordings for Epic in the 70's, and two were inserted (1967 & 1968) because Musicor/Gusto refused to allow the producers to use the originals. Jones originally recorded "Good Year for the Roses" in 1970, but a much later version with Alan JacksonAlan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson is an American country music singer, known for blending traditional honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 13 studio albums, 3 Greatest Hits albums, 2 Holiday albums, 1 Gospel album and several compilations, all on the Arista...
is used here. The inclusion of his 1981 #1 single, "Still Doin' Time", among his mid 1960s hits is an embarrassing error given the CD's pride at presenting one hit from each year or one song from each year that George recorded. That 1981 song should have appeared on Disc 2 between "He Stopped Loving Her Today
He Stopped Loving Her Today
"He Stopped Loving Her Today" is the title of a song by American country music artist George Jones that has been named in several surveys as the greatest country song of all time. It was released in April 1980 as the lead single from the album I Am What I Am. The song was Jones's first No. 1 single...
" and "Same Ole Me". Instead, on here, we have his 1982 #1 single with Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
representing the year 1981, "Yesterday's Wine". "Same Ole Me" was indeed a hit single in early 1982...but it was a hit before the duet material with Merle came along...so there are several songs that appear out of chronological order. The inclusion of a 1979 duet he recorded with Waylon Jennings, "Night Life", appears out of place as it wasn't even a single pushed at radio. The CD should have included "Someday My Day Will Come" instead to represent 1979. "Radio Lover" is another example...that song was recorded in 1983 on the album Jones Country
Jones Country
Jones Country is an album by American country music artist George Jones. This album was released in 1983 on the Epic Records label. The album's name was taken from an outdoor music park operated and owned by George in Texas near his birthplace between the years of 1983 through 1988 prior to his and...
but Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
released it as a single in 1989 but on here, they have it listed as a 1988 single. The big hit, if you call it that, in 1988 for George was a duet with newcomer Shelby Lynne, "If I Could Bottle This Up", that reached the Top-50 on Top Country Songs but that duet single isn't featured here.
Disc one
1955 – Why Baby WhyWhy Baby Why
"Why Baby Why" is the title of a country music song co-written and originally recorded by George Jones. Released in late 1955 on Starday Records, and produced by Starday co-founder and Jones manager Pappy Daily, it peaked at #4 on the Billboard country charts that year...
1956 – Just One More
1957 – Tall, Tall Trees
Tall, Tall Trees
"Tall, Tall Trees" is the title of a song co-written by American singers George Jones and Roger Miller. Both singers recorded their own versions: Jones on his 1958 album Long Live King George, and Miller on his 1970 cover album A Trip in the Country....
1958 – Color of the Blues
1959 – White Lightning
White Lightning (George Jones song)
"White Lightning" is the title of a song written by the rockabilly artist J. P. Richardson, best known by his stage name, The Big Bopper. The song was recorded by American country music artist George Jones and released as a single in February 1959. On April 13, 1959, Jones' version became the first...
1960 – Window Up Above
Window Up Above
"Window Up Above" is a 1975 single by Mickey Gilley. "Window Up Above" would be Mickey Gilley's fourth number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of twelve weeks on the country chart. "Window Up Above" was written and originally recorded...
1961 – Tender Years
Tender Years
"Tender Years" is the title of a song written by Darrell Edwards and recorded by American country music artist George Jones. The song was George Jones second number one on the country chart where it spent seven non consecutive weeks at the top and a total of thirty-two weeks on the country chart...
1962 – She Thinks I Still Care
She Thinks I Still Care
"She Thinks I Still Care" is a song written by Dickey Lee and Steve Duffy which became the third C&W #1 hit for George Jones, spending six weeks at #1 in the spring/summer of 1962...
1963 – You Comb Her Hair
1964 – The Race Is On
The Race Is On (song)
"The Race Is On" is a song co-written and recorded by country music artist George Jones. It was the first single released from his 1965 album of the same name...
1965 – We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds
We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds
"We Must Have Been Out Of Our Minds" is a song made famous as a duet by country music singers George Jones and Melba Montgomery. Originally released in 1963, the song became a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and a country music standard....
(with Melba Montgomery)
1981 – Still Doin' Time
Still Doin' Time
"Still Doin' Time" is a 1981 single written by John Moffatt and Michael P. Heeney and recorded by George Jones. "Still Doin' Time" would be George Jones' eight number one country single as a solo artist. The single stayed at number one for one week and spent a total of ten weeks on the chart...
Unk – Walk Through This World with Me
Walk Through This World with Me (song)
"Walk Through This World with Me" is the title of a song written by Sandy Seamond and Kaye Savage, and recorded by American country music artist George Jones. It was released in January 1967 as the title track of his twenty-fourth album. The single was George Jones' fifty-seventh release on the...
(not original 1967 hit version)
1968 – She's Mine
1969 – I'll Share My World with You
1994 – Good Year for the Roses (with Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson is an American country music singer, known for blending traditional honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 13 studio albums, 3 Greatest Hits albums, 2 Holiday albums, 1 Gospel album and several compilations, all on the Arista...
)
1971 – Take Me (with Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
)
Disc two
1972 – A Picture of Me (Without You)A Picture of Me (Without You) (song)
"A Picture of Me " is a country music song written by Norro Wilson and George Richey. It was originally recorded by George Jones, whose version peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1972. The song was covered by Lorrie Morgan on her 1991 album Something in Red...
1973 – Once You've Had The Best
1974 – The Grand Tour
The Grand Tour (song)
"The Grand Tour" is a song made famous by country music singer George Jones. Originally released in 1974, the song was the title track to his album released that year.The song became Jones' sixth No...
1975 – These Days I Barely Get By
1976 – Her Name Is
1977 – Near You
Near You
"Near You" is a popular song written by Francis Craig with lyrics by Kermit Goell. The song was published in 1947.The recording by Francis Craig was released by Bullet Records as catalog number 1001. It first reached the Billboard Best Sellers chart on August 30, 1947, and lasted 21 weeks on the...
(with Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
)
1978 – Bartender's Blues
1979 – Nightlife (with Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
)
1980 – He Stopped Loving Her Today
He Stopped Loving Her Today
"He Stopped Loving Her Today" is the title of a song by American country music artist George Jones that has been named in several surveys as the greatest country song of all time. It was released in April 1980 as the lead single from the album I Am What I Am. The song was Jones's first No. 1 single...
1982 – Yesterday's Wine
Yesterday's Wine (song)
"Yesterday's Wine" is the title track of the 1971 album of the same name by Willie Nelson. The track was also written by Willie Nelson. In 1982, Merle Haggard and George Jones recorded a duet of "Yesterday's Wine" which became a number one single on the country chart. The single went to number...
(with Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
)
1982 – Same Ole Me
Same Ole Me
"Same Ole Me" is a single by American country music artist George Jones with The Oak Ridge Boys. Released in January 1982, it was the second single from Jones' album Still the Same Ole Me. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and #1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in...
1983 – I Always Get Lucky with You
I Always Get Lucky with You
"I Always Get Lucky With You" is a 1983 single written by Merle Haggard, Freddy Powers, Gary Church, and Tex Whitson and recorded by George Jones. "I Always Get Lucky with You" would be George Jones' ninth number one on the country chart as a solo artist . The single stayed at number one for one...
1984 – She's My Rock
She's My Rock
"She's My Rock" is a song written by Gene Dobbins. It was first recorded by Stoney Edwards on his 1973 album She's My Rock. Edwards' version peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.-Cover versions:...
1985 – Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes
Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes (song)
"Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" is the title of a song written by Troy Seals and Max D. Barnes and recorded by American country music singer George Jones. It was recorded for his 1985 album Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes, from which it was released in late 1985 as the first single...
1986 – The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song)
The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song)
"The One I Loved Back Then " is the title of a country song written by Gary Gentry and recorded by American country music singer George Jones. It was recorded for his 1985 album Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes, from which it was released in late 1985 as the second single...
1987 – The Right Left Hand
The Right Left Hand
"The Right Left Hand" is a single by American country music artist George Jones. It was released in January 1987 as the second single from his album Wine Colored Roses. The song peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart....
1988 – Radio Lover
Disc three
1989 – (I'm a) One Woman ManI'm a One-Woman Man
"I'm a One-Woman Man" is a song co-written by American country music artist Johnny Horton and Tillman Franks. It was originally released as a single by Horton in 1956, whose version peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart....
1990 – A Few Ole Country Boys
A Few Ole Country Boys
"A Few Ole Country Boys" is the title of a recorded by American country music artist Randy Travis. It is a duet with country musician George Jones and was written by Troy Seals and Mentor Williams. It was the first single released from his album of duets, Heroes & Friends...
(with Randy Travis
Randy Travis
Randy Travis is an American country music singer and actor. Since 1985, he has recorded 20 studio albums and charted more than 30 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 22 of which were number one hits...
)
1991 – You Couldn't Get The Picture
1992 – Finally Friday
1993 – I Don't Need Your Rocking Chair
1994 – High Tech Redneck
1995 – One (with Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
)
1996 – I Must Have Done Something Bad
1997 – When Did You Stop Loving Me
1998 – Wild Irish Rose
1999 – Choices
Choices (song)
"Choices" is a country music song written by Mike Curtis and Billy Yates and Rob Lyons, first recorded by Yates on his 1997 self-titled album for Almo Sounds. It was later covered by George Jones, who released as the first single from his album The Cold Hard Truth on May 8, 1999, and it peaked at...
2000 – Cold Hard Truth
Cold Hard Truth
Cold Hard Truth is an album by American country music singer George Jones. The album was released on June 22, 1999 on the Asylum label. It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and number 53 on The Billboard 200 chart. Cold Hard Truth went Gold in 2000...
2001 – Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?) (with Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
)
2002 – 50,000 Names
2003 – I Got Everything
2004 – Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
Producers
- Compilation producer: Evelyn Shriver
- Associate producers: Susan Nadler and Michael Campbell
- Art direction: Virginia Team and Luellyn Latocki
- Design by Don Baily for Latocki Team Creative, Nashville, TNNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
- Compilation engineered for release by Custom Mastering, Inc.
Chart performance
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 20 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 118 |
| U.S. Billboard Independent Albums | 5 |
Sales and certifications
| Region | Provider | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| United States | RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Gold |