The Greatest Country Music Vocalist - George Jones Quiz / Test | Music

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Where was George Glenn Jones born and raised? Born in ____________, TX and raised in ____________, TX.

Answer: Saratoga, Vidor

Born September 12, 1931. At the age of seven, George quickly realized his interest in country music when his parents purchased a radio.

His father played guitar and his mother played piano. When George was nine years old he was given a guitar and encouraged to play.

George was raised in a poor family, the youngest of eight, one brother and five sisters; another sister died young from an illness.

2. During these early years, George played at local town and church activities then started playing the streets of Beaumont, TX for what in return?

Answer: nickels

From Alan Mercer's article dated March 11, 2012 recapping his February 2012 interview with George Jones in Los Angeles, where George was receiving his Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award:

"When the family moved to Beaumont, he played guitar in the streets for nickels."

George eventually became good enough to earn himself air time at local radio stations, leaving home in his mid-teens for Jasper, TX, then in Beaumont, TX, where he got the chance to meet and play guitar for Hank Williams, Sr. who was in the studio promoting an upcoming show.

George's nickname, The Possum, originated from a radio station co-worker, citing his resemblance to the animal.

3. In 1950 Jones joined the U.S. Marines where he regularly performed at nearby bars while stationed at a military camp in southern California. Soon after his discharge late 1953, he headed back to southeast Texas playing dancehalls and clubs. Stardom was inevitable and recognized by whom of the following?

Answer: Pappy Dailey

Jones caught the eye of Pappy Dailey, a Houston record executive who encouraged him to sing like himself and not like his idols - Roy Acuff and Lefty Frizzell.

In 1954, Jones signed with Starday Records recording with Lefty Frizzell's backup band.

In 1956, Billboard named Jones Most Promising New Country Artist.

In 1971, Jones signed with Billy Sherrill under Epic Records, to be able to record duets with his wife Tammy Wynette, under the same label.

In 1991, Jones left Epic to join MCA Records. MCA Nashville president Tony Brown commented, it was "like signing Elvis".

4. Speaking of Tammy Wynette, her marriage to George Jones lasted from February 1969 thru March 1975. Soon after their marriage, they purchased a home in Florida; this home had a nickname. From the following choices, can you identify the correct Florida town and nickname for the home George and Tammy shared?

Answer: Lakeland, Old Plantation

This sixteen-room home located in Polk County, Florida, is situated on almost seven acres of land and includes a guitar shaped in-ground pool.

The Jones' built a small scale music park for guests which often included Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Charley Pride, Loretta Lynn and others, all performing at various parties the Jones' were known for.

This home inspired the songs "The Grand Tour" and "Two-Story House", a Jones/Wynette duet.

5. Throughout his second and third marriage, George struggled with alcoholism and then the use of cocaine. These destructive ways led to the 'no show Jones' name given by irate fans, after failing to appear for numerous scheduled performances. Down and out and often broke; did Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings come to George's financial aid?

Answer: True

Yes, self-admitted by George, Johnny and Waylon did help him through these rough times.

A show manager encouraged cocaine upon the exhausted singer, in order to get him up on stage to fulfill that evening's commitment.

George entered an Alabama psychiatric hospital in the late 1970s to kick the bad habits. He needed to re-enter seven times.

A 1999 car accident seriously injuring the singer, became the turning point for George to quit drinking for good (a pint of vodka was in his possession).

He credits his 1983 marriage to Nancy Sepulveda as a great source of strength.

Also, Jones underwent open-heart surgery for a triple by-pass in 1994.

6. Following his 1999 car crash near his Nashville home, Jones recorded a powerful ballad receiving a nomination for 1999 Single of the Year by the Country Music Association. Do you recall what song this was?

Answer: Choices

Due to the CMA's refusal to allow George to sing the entire song during the broadcast, he turned down the invitation to perform that evening.

During Alan Jackson's performance, he motioned to his band then proceeded to play a portion of "Choices", resulting in a standing ovation.

"Choices", released May 1999 from the album Cold Hard Truth, won a Grammy for Jones, Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

7. Many people in the music business have commented on George Jones, his voice, style, etc. Who said that George Jones is "the second greatest singer in America"?

Answer: Frank Sinatra

I too, would have chosen Frank Sinatra.

Garth Brooks: "The greatest voice ever to sing country music."

Vince Gill: "You can't define the ache that's in George's voice. It's just something inherently him."

Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones: "George Jones is a national treasure and should be treated accordingly."

James Taylor: "He sounds like a steel guitar, George doesn't sound like he was influenced by any other singer."

Waylon Jennings: "If we all could sound the way we wanted, we'd all sound like George Jones."

Roy Acuff: "I would give anything if I could sing like George Jones."

Emmylou Harris: "He has a remarkable voice that flows out of him effortlessly and quietly, but with an edge that comes from the stormy part of the heart. In the South, we call it high lonesome. I think it's popularly called soul."

Peter Cooper, Music Columnist for the Tennessean: "Jones told me once that he'd rather sing a sad song than eat." (article dated 9/12/11).

8. Over the years dozens of songs mention George Jones in the lyrics. Here is a line from one such song; can you fill in the blank? "I remember circling the __________, pulling up and turning down George Jones"

Answer: drive in

Barbara Mandrell's "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" was a number one hit on July 4, 1991 on Billboard Magazine's Hot Country Songs. George's vocals can be heard at the end of the song.

A few other songs referencing George Jones in the lyrics are:

Hank Williams, Jr. - "All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down"
Alan Jackson - "Don't Rock The Jukebox" and "Just Playin' Possum"
Alan Jackson and George Strait - "Murder on Music Row"
The Judds - "Have Mercy"

9. In 1994, the "Bradley Barn Sessions" was released containing eleven of George's songs re-recorded as duets with other country artists including two non-country names, Mark Knopfler and Keith Richards. Only one of these duets was released as a single only reaching number 56 on the Billboard Country charts. Do you know which song this was?

Answer: A Good Year For The Roses

George Jones duet with Alan Jackson.

All artists on this album were:

Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Travis Tritt, Mark Chesnutt, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Trisha Yearwood, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Mark Knopfler and Keith Richards.

The album was recorded at Bradley Barn, a Nashville recording studio, owned by Owen Bradley.

10. "He Stopped Loving Her Today", was George's massive hit and signature song released April 1980 and acknowledged as the greatest country song of all time. After recording this song, did George say 'nobody will buy that morbid S.O.B.'?

Answer: Yes

Yes, George did say that to producer Billy Sherrill, who bet George one hundred dollars that he was wrong.

From the "He Stopped Loving Her Today" website:

"In any event, Sherrill, Jones and the engineers stuck with it over many months before they had the song completed. On the day they finished, Jones writes, "I looked Billy square in the eye and said, 'Nobody will buy that morbid S. O. B.' Then I marched out the studio door."

Sherrill recognized this as a perfect song for Jones, in need of a comeback hit from nearly a six year struggle with personal problems.

Awards from "He Stopped Loving Her Today":

1980 - Grammy, Best Country Male Performance
1980 - Academy/Country Music Award, Single of the Year
1980 - Academy/Country Music Award, Song of the Year (writers)
1980 & 1981 - Country Music Association, Best Male Vocalist of the Year
1981 - Music City News Award, Single of the Year.

George Jones also holds the four highest honors in the music industry:

Country Music Hall of Fame - 1992 Inductee
Kennedy Center Honors - 2008 Honoree
National Medal of Arts - 2002 White House Ceremony
Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award (highest honor for artistic excellence) 2012

Source: Author annanne

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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The Greatest Country Music Vocalist - George Jones Quiz

Reading about George Jones' hospitalization in March of 2012 prompted this quiz. The questions herein focus primarily on his life, less on his music. Enjoy and Good Luck!

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