Jone's Gospel Album

Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 11:44:51 -0700
Newsgroups: rec.music.country.western
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George Jones Celebrates Gospel
By Deborah Evans Price
Talk to George Jones these days and the country music icon readily
admits he's a changed man. Following a near-fatal car accident in 1999,
he gave up alcohol and cigarettes and rediscovered his faith in God.
That spiritual renewal fuels Jones' new Bandit/BNA Records release, "The
Gospel Collection: George Jones Sings the Greatest Stories Ever Told."
Released April 1, the two-CD set includes 24 tracks, among them such
classics as "Amazing Grace," "I'll Fly Away," "Peace in the Valley," and
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus." The set also includes duets with Patti
Page ("Precious Memories") and Vestal Goodman ("Mansion Over the Hilltop").
"My whole life has been turned around," Jones says. "I quit drinking and
smoking, and I have a different outlook on life. That wreck put the fear
of God in me. I just got a little closer to the good Lord, and I'm
enjoying life. I felt like this was the right time to do the kind of
songs I've really always wanted to do if I thought I could have made a
living at it."
The project reunites Jones with legendary producer Billy Sherrill, the
man responsible for Jones' country hits during his tenure with Epic
Records. "Billy and my wife are real close buddies," Jones says of his
wife/manager, Nancy. "She asked him would he consider coming out of
retirement to do this double-album of gospel songs. He said no, he
wouldn't do them for George, but he'd do it for her. He's a real jewel.
He's still got the touch."
Jones says Nancy and Sherrill helped him determine which songs to record
for the project, which he considers his first true gospel album.
"There's [another] gospel album out on me, but I recorded that album
over a period of years," the 71-year-old artist explains. "We'd go in to
do a regular album, and we'd thrown in a gospel song. Over the years,
they accumulated enough for an album, but I never went in to actually
record a gospel album until now."
Jones says a tube that was placed down his throat during his hospital
stay had initially caused some vocal trouble, but he is now recovered.
"The Gospel Collection" features the distinctive baritone that has made
him a country legend and finds that voice paired with Page, with whom he
previously recorded a duet for his "Ladies Choice" album, and Goodman,
with whom he previously recorded the song/video "Angel Band."
Jones credits Goodman with lifting his spirits following his car
accident. He asked to speak to her when he regained consciousness. "I
had only met Vestal one time in my life, a few months before the wreck.
I had no reason to have her in mind. I guess it was all the prayers she
was putting out for me. My wife said the first person I spoke of was
Vestal Goodman. I wanted to see Vestal, and I wanted to hear some gospel
music. After that, I got a whole new lease on life."
Jones says he is obligated to do one more country album on his current
Bandit deal and would love to do another gospel project. He is currently
performing some of the music from "The Gospel Collection" during his
country tour and would like to do some Christian concerts, possibly
including some of Southern gospel patriarch Bill Gaither's multi-artist
Homecoming shows.
"I'm just so happy to be alive," Jones says. "It's a different life all
together from what I lived. My life has been changed, and it means more
singing these songs today than it did years ago because I'm looking at
life differently."