When it was discovered a few days before his death that George was expected to die, the children were never called, and they had to hear the news from relatives. They were never given the opportunity to come and stand by their daddy on his deathbed. George Jones’s children were treated as total strangers when they came to the funeral. They were never recognized or their names mentioned. In fact as unbelievable as it may seem, their names did not appear in the Obituary.
The children stood in line at the Opry House for one-and half-hours with the rest of the fans who came to pay respects to George Jones. They were not given a V.I.P. pass as all the ones who sat in the important persons section were given. They entered the Opry House but as soon as they got seated, they were asked to move to another section to avoid being seen by the cameras.
The funeral was over, and you would expect that George’s children would be escorted to a waiting limousine to be driven to the graveside memorial as Nancy and her children, family, and friends were. They were shunned extraordinaire and excluded from the traditional dinner that families have at the home of the deceased. They were not invited to their own daddy’s home to reflect on his life with his family and friends.
Helen is George’s only surviving sibling. She was ninety-one years old and made the trip all the way from her home in Texas to pay her last respects to her famous brother. Her name was never mentioned at the funeral; even though, Helen was George’s favorite sister. In fact, George and Nancy were married in Helen’s home, and yet she was unimportant enough to be left completely out of the ceremony of his death as if she never existed.
I sat about five rows back from Nancy. She was sitting on the front row near the casket next to former First Lady, Laura Bush. Nancy was surrounded by her family, friends, and her daughters, who are not George’s biological offspring or adopted by him as Tammy’s three daughters were.
Several country music artists took the stage and performed some beautiful songs to pay tribute to the Legend of George Jones. The minister gave a heart-warming message that consoled the grieving family. He spoke kindly and warmly of George. Below the stage sat a beautiful bronze coffin covered with an array of gorgeous white flowers and inside sleeping peacefully, lay George Jones, The King of Country Music.
George’s four biological children, Susan, Jeffrey, Brian, and Georgette, his sister, many country music stars he mentored, and a world full of country music fans who idolized the Legend were in attendance that day. It was truly a celebration fit for a King.
When the funeral was over, I was overcome with the strangest feeling. I felt like I was watching a beautiful Rolls Royce rolling down a large avenue with no hubcaps and two flat tires.
As elegant and prestigious as this entire affair was, something was very much missing that denigrated the entire ceremony. The omission of George’s own flesh and blood was substituted by people who had only known him a few years. The event was sad and painful.
Can you imagine a world where no music is playing, a church where no one is praying, or a sky that has no blue? That is the picture Nancy Jones drew and has shown to the world.
Sadly, the knife that was stuck in the backs of these children was twisted even deeper when it was announced that Nancy Jones inherited every single material possession George Jones had. The children were excluded from the entire Estate with no explanation as to why? They could not, nor cannot get so much as one of his beloved guitars, a pair of his famous boots, or even a sympathy card. Nancy Jones has them eternally blocked from anything of their daddy’s they rightfully deserve, and she is trying to stop the royalty stream George left Brian and Jeffrey as part of the settlement when Shirley Corley Jones and he divorced. The boys have lived on that money since they were children. Nancy wants it all.
Can you picture Heaven with no angels singing, or a church with no bells ringing? Have you ever watched the heart of a child break in two? If you have, then you understand what Nancy Jones has done to these children.
I praised Nancy Jones for her care of George and sticking with him through his trials of life. She helped him overcome his bad habits, nursed him back to health, and got him back on his feet but at the same time, she belittled his children and destroyed his relationship with them, and that fact was glaringly exposed at George’s funeral and since then.
What possible insidious reason could she have for doing these things to the kids? She recently interviewed in a magazine where she claimed George put her through hell. She then claimed that it was worth it.
I have driven the nail as deeply as I can, and the public will do the rest as they become keenly aware of what is happening to this family. As far as I have taken it, it won’t ease the pain and suffering these children are enduring in the sordid distain this woman has for George’s family.
On September 12, 2013, George would have had his 82nd birthday. A great celebration took place at his gravesite. Eighty-two balloons were released in his honor, but Jeffrey, Brian, and Georgette were nowhere to be found. They were not invited. So here is another unanswered question in the minds of millions of people. Why not?
In November of 2013, Nancy Jones threw a huge celebration as a last tribute to George Jones. Dozens of stars were invited and participated as tickets were sold for as much as one thousand dollars. None of the Jones children were there or extended the courtesy of an invitation. Again, why not?
The Country Music Awards held on November 6, 2013 was the grandest ever in its forty-seven year history. I was outraged that the Jones children were not invited. I am a member of the Association, so I called them.
“Why weren’t the Jones children invited to the CMA Awards show?” I asked the person who handled my call.
I was told there were not tickets, but I insisted she put me in touch with somebody who had some authority.
“Oh, I can get them tickets, but they will have to pay for them,” the smart lady claimed.
“How much will these kids have to pay for the tickets?” I asked the person in charge.
“Why, four hundred dollars,” was her reply.
“They can’t afford those tickets,” I said.
Later that day, Nancy Jones Agent called me and chewed me out for calling CMA instead of him, but I let him have a mouth full of venom.
“Stop calling them kids!” He yelled. “They aren’t little kids, they’re grown adults!”
“Well sir, they’re still the Jones children to me,” I yelled back.
Would someone explain why I got that call shortly after I called CMA? Why does Nancy Jones hate those children as badly as she does? She turned on them with vicious poison as soon as George died.
George Jones was booked sometime in October of 2013 to perform his final and farewell concert. It is reported that when Nancy Jones questioned him as to why he was giving the producers the carte blanche, he reportedly said, “Because I won’t be there.” He wasn’t. He died on April 26, 2013, and it was then booked as his final “no show.”
The concert sold out for the November 22, 2013 concert tribute. The list of artists performing and attending reads like “Who’s Who” in Country Music. Nancy Jones invited and reportedly paid the way for family and friends from Beaumont, Texas to be at the event but glaringly absent were the George Jones’ natural children and his grandchildren.
My publisher was called the night of the concert. Georgette, Brian, Jeffrey, the daughters-in-law, or the grandchildren were invited or welcomed to the last tribute of their famous daddy. Sadness sets as the family feels the knife of bitterness and hatred sinks in. Nancy Jones says the family has started a scholarship fund for Middle Tennessee State University by the George Jones’ family that she hopes will become a memorial to George. Which family? His real family, or his adopted family?
Sue Jones, wife of Jeffrey Jones said to my publisher, “It is a blessing in disguise. Georgette is performing near Houston, and we are going to unite for the first time in more than thirty years and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner together!”
Th
e Jones children are not thugs or manipulative thieves. They are hard working men and women, who have jobs and struggle with life just like the rest of us. They aren’t troublemakers who are always stirring the pot and making noise. Brian Jones is a Deacon in his church, and Jeffrey Jones is a dedicated Christian man raising his family with Godliness. They are quiet and good Christians, who will die of bleeding and broken hearts. It is time somebody fights back. My publisher, Dr. Sherman Smith, was incensed when he heard the stories of horror told to him by Sue Jones and sickened by the brokenness the entire family feels.
George always said, “There’s gonna be a day of reckoning.”
EPILOGUE
* * *
You Can’t Judge a Book by its Cover,
A Hard Act to Follow and the Grand Tour
It would take a volume of books to contain all the stories a person could write about George Jones. Many of the tales about George paint a distorted picture of him. To be fair, there is some truth in many of the commentaries concerning his “colorful” character. His life had been rough in a lot of ways, but I am a defender of the fact that circumstances played a huge role in the choices he made.
According to the Scripture, a man has been blessed if he lives to the age of seventy-years old, and anything past that is an extra blessing. George Jones turned eighty-one on September 12, 2012. He enjoyed more than a decade of extra blessings. It’s true that George drank a river of alcohol and sniffed sacks of cocaine. What made him do some of the things he did? It was definitely the alcohol and cocaine. Nine times out of ten, when George did something that was not good, he was messed up.
A person might ask why would George drink and snort cocaine if it made him do stupid things? George’s addictions were a means of escape from a sometimes-painful world. I am not trying to justify his behavior, but he was not the man people thought he was. He was portrayed as mean and abusive when in reality, he had a heart of gold. Here is an example of George’s kindness toward Peanutt and me.
Peanutt and I were sitting at our kitchen table drinking coffee one morning when George and Linda came over to visit. Peanutt had just finished building a model airplane, and he made mention that he wanted to fly it but needed a vehicle that could haul it to and from the fields where he would fly his planes. Nothing more was mentioned about this, and the subject was dropped.
The next morning, George called and wanted Peanutt and me to take him to the airport. On the way, George told Peanutt to turn and head toward the Datsun (now Nissan) dealership in Muscle Shoals.
When we pulled into the lot, George asked Peanutt how he liked the 280Z that was sitting there? Peanutt likes beautiful cars, so he enthusiastically said he loved it. George then asked Peanutt and me to check out the Datsun station wagon sitting nearby.
When Peanutt opened the door, taped to the steering wheel was a note on a yellow legal pad:
“TO PEANUTT AND CHARLENE,
Two of the greatest people I know. This is not for charity, this is a gift because we love you. You have written many a good song for me over the years, and maybe soon you’ll write some more. I bought a car that I thought you could afford to operate, and a car you can afford. Hope we have many more good years together (as friends of course) HA!”
Love, George & Linda
(George had bought the 280Z for himself, and both cars were silver color).
George was grossly misunderstood. A man who is mean cannot be taken advantage of the way George was. His good heartedness ended up causing him pain. Inside that rough exterior was where a good person lived. You can’t judge a book by its cover and believe me, I have read the book of George Jones and know the man inside and out.
George Jones was one of a kind, and there will never be another. Artists will come and go, but no one will ever replace George Jones. When God made that mold, he threw it away. He’s gone, so who is going to fill his shoes? The answer is nobody because it can’t be done.
There have been many people who have tried their best to sing like George Jones. They’ve tried to imitate his unique phrasing, but no one has succeeded since he created his style back in the 1950’s. He cannot be copied because there was something so special in his voice that allowed him to deliver a message in a song that would penetrate the deepest part of a person’s heart. If I was a recording artist, I’d hate like the devil to have to follow that man on stage because once George finished singing, the show was over. He was the highlight of any performance. He grabbed the hearts of his audiences and when he was finished, no one felt they didn’t get their money’s worth. He was a hard act to follow.
George Jones started his amazing tour on September 12, 1931. His first feel of love was the embrace of his precious sweet mother’s arms. He once said about his mom’s cooking,
“After sniffing all the finest colognes and perfumes in the world, there’s never been anything that could top the smell of mama cooking breakfast.”
The first guitar that laid against his chest as his heart pounded with excitement demonstrated his love to sing and play for anyone who would listen and defined what he would do the rest of his life. The thrill of standing on the first stage he ever played at the Beaumont Playground in Texas embedded in him the need and desire to become the very best showman in the history of Country Music.
He wandered in and out of marriages like a needle weaving thread through a piece of fabric only to watch the seams unravel like the strings on a flower sack. The first marriage added a little piece of joy that he took on his journey; a beautiful daughter named Susan.
He had the honor of serving his country in the armed forces for three years. He fell in love the second time and became the husband of Shirley, and two more bundles of joy entered his life with the birth of his sons Jeffrey and Brian.
George’s dream of a career in music and how it happened is a journey that’s far more than fascinating. It’s a phenomenon. He has soared like an eagle. He’s flown the peaks of the highest mountains and to the lowest depths of the valleys. Tammy Wynette became the “First Lady of Country Music” when George married her, and he gained another gem of joy with the birth of his daughter, Georgette.
The dark days came and left a myriad of bad memories. The white substance (cocaine) added a heavy load to his life. George would love to have left this part of his tour behind, but the aftermath of that experience never left his mind.
George rode in his Rolls Royce like the streets were paved with pure gold, and then he’d find himself reeling from his horrific battle with drugs and alcohol that made him feel like he was riding on the meanest roller coaster at the world’s largest fair.
George Jones grand tour ended on April 26, 2013, and those famous words “till death do us part” will live on in infamy. George came a long way through life and after many years of living, he found his resting place in the hills of Tennessee with his final and happy marriage to Nancy Jones and left behind the bad habits he picked up on his tour of life.
His life with Nancy reminds me of the songs “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane” recorded by Tanya Tucker and “Islands in the Stream” by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. When George reached the end of his life’s journey, I believe in his heart he was singing the words to his mother’s favorite song, “Nothing Between My Soul and My Savior.” A memory that has been from the beginning of his journey and will be there at the end.
Just before George died, the Pastor, who was the preacher of his funeral, was in the room with Nancy. The Pastor asked George if he was ready to meet Jesus?
“Well, yeah,” he yelled, “Ain’t you?”
A WORD FROM PEANUTT
On my first date with Charlene, we went for a ride on the Natchez Trace. We stopped at a picnic area for a walk. Charlene became occupied picking wildflowers, hunting for four-leaf clovers, and throwing rocks. At one point, I turned around to find her swinging on a tree limb. She appeared to be as free as a breeze and without a worry in the world. I knew right then that she was the woman for me.
&nbs
p; I learned real quickly that when she didn’t want to do something, all she’d say was, “Ain’t no way.” She meant exactly that, and the idea was nipped in the bud. On the flip side when she wants to do something, “It’s gonna be done one way or another.” I’m not surprised that she became inspired to write this book, and I had no doubt that she would write it.
I introduced her to George Jones in the early months of 1965, which was one year before we got married. George took a liking to her right off the bat. She literally hated drinking, and George was a drunk. I really didn’t know how she would feel toward him, but she liked him. She’s always told me that she looked beyond his faults and saw the good in him. It was a kind of sympathy.
George and I were always together along with Charlene. She stood by us through the days of our wild living. She was there to cheer us on when something good happened for us. She was there to lift us up in our lowest moments. She was a real source of encouragement for us to do better.
George and I were as close or closer than brothers. We were committed to each other. We had an unbreakable friendship, and Charlene became a great supporter of our loyalty to each other. When George and I had differences between us, she became the common denominator that would settle the problem. If we had a feud, she became our referee. She knew both of us as well as a mother knows her two sons. She spent many years of her life looking out for George and me. It wasn’t unusual to find her in the kitchen at midnight cooking George something to eat in an effort to sober him up, or to find her packing a suitcase to go on a last minute trip to wherever George took a notion to go.
When Tammy and George got married, all four of us became very close. We spent seventy-five per cent of our time together. When they divorced, we stood by George. It was a very difficult time for him. When he and Linda Welborn (Charlene’s sister) were married, we spent at least as much time together as we did with George and Tammy.
The Legend of George Jones: His Life and Death Page 21