GEORGE JONES…
(one of those iconic sounds of Country music)

Every era has its iconic sounds of music, in the different genres of it. George Jones was one of those iconic sounds of Country music.

The definition of –Country – music has always been very fluid, of course, but all of its varieties derive from the same inspirational root-stock of daily life’s vicissitudes. At some point, much like sub-species evolving from a given genus type, those varieties have gone their separate ways making it hard, sometimes, to draw a clearly distinctive line between them. The list of those variations is a long one…folk, blue-grass, country, country & western, rock-a-billy…and so on…with each having their own iconic voice. The list of those is also very long, and each of us has our own preferences, no doubt.

I’m not certain when I first heard George Jones. It was back in the occupation days in Germany, in the 1950s. At the time the AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Services) broadcast a weekly radio show called –COB HALL- a hilarious spoof of the famous New York Philharmonic broadcast series, wherein the host MC (with a pronounced Tennessee hill-country twang) solemnly pontificated about the twists and turns of classic opera story-line plots, substituting Country Music tunes in place of corresponding well known arias. One of its most popular shows was its take-off on Wagner’s –Seigfreid and the Rhine Maidens – which it called the “opry about –Sam Fry and the Road House Dollies”. What made it so entertaining was the clever way the country tune’s theme matched the classic aria’s theme, matching its tale of the joy of love’s discovery, heartbreak, jealousy, betrayal, revenge, etc..

The reason I mention all of that is because George Jones’s songs were so often used by the show’s MC for that purpose, with his name given in the opening song credits being used in the show. And the uniqueness of his style always stood out even though, at the time, the name didn’t mean that much to me; but, as you can see…both his sound and name still linger on after all these years.

To this day I often wonder if somewhere in the AFRS broadcast archives, the recordings of that fabulous –COB HALL – show still exist. If so, then George Jones lives on within them.

CENTURION