I Lived to Tell It All
I Lived to Tell It All | ||||
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MCA Nashville | ||||
Producer | Norro Wilson | |||
George Jones chronology | ||||
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I Lived to Tell It All is an album by
Background
Coming off his successful reunion tour with ex-wife Tammy Wynette, Jones reunited with producer Norro Wilson to record his fifth album with MCA Nashville. While Jones remained committed to "pure country", he worked with the top musicians and songwriters of the day and the quality of his work remained high, even though his age kept him off mainstream country radio. Earlier in the year, Jones released his autobiography I Lived To Tell It All with Tom Carter and the irony of his long career was not lost on him, with the singer writing in its preface, "I also know that a lot of my show-business peers are going to be angry after reading this book. So many have worked so hard to maintain their careers. I never took my career seriously, and yet it's flourishing." He also pulled no punches about his disappointment in the direction country music had taken, devoting a full chapter to the changes in the country music scene of the 1990s that saw him removed from radio playlists in favor of a younger generation of pop-influenced country stars. Despite his absence from the country charts during this time, latter-day country superstars such as George Strait, Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, and many others often paid tribute to Jones while expressing their love and respect for his legacy as a true country legend who paved the way for their own success.
Jones promoted the album heavily and it rose to 26 on the Billboard country albums chart, a respectable showing considering his lack of radio support. He also made a music video for "Honky Tonk Song" which lampooned the infamous episode when Jones rode a lawn mower eight miles to the liquor store after his wife had hidden his car keys (Jones also performed the song on The Late Show with David Letterman). The album contains the novelty single "Billy B. Bad", a sarcastic jab at country music establishment trendsetters (unsurprisingly, it did not chart), and "Hello Heart", which was co-written by Jones's former 1960s duet partner Melba Montgomery.
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | link |
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | " Honky Tonk Song" | Frank J. Myers, Billy Yates | 2:46 |
2. | "Back Down to Hung Up on You" | Larry Butler, Dean Dillon | 3:37 |
3. | "Billy B. Bad" | Bobby Braddock | 3:01 |
4. | "Hundred Proof Memories" | Keith Stegall, Zack Turner | 3:56 |
5. | "It Ain't Gonna Worry My Mind" | Richard Leigh | 2:55 |
6. | "The Lone Ranger" | Yates, Gerald Smith, John Northrup | 2:38 |
7. | "Tied to a Stone" | Max D. Barnes | 4:06 |
8. | "I'll Give You Something to Drink About" | Hank Cochran, Mack Vickery, Jerry Laseter | 3:19 |
9. | "I Must Have Done Something Bad" | Red Lane | 3:19 |
10. | "Hello Heart" | Melba Montgomery, Yates | 2:45 |
Personnel
- Harold Bradley – bass guitar, baritone guitar
- Jim Chapman – backing vocals
- Glen Duncan – fiddle
- Paul Franklin – dobro, fiddle
- Gary Buho Gazaway – trumpet
- John Hughey – pedal steel guitar
- Roy Huskey, Jr. – double bass
- George Jones – acoustic guitar, vocals
- Marabeth Jordan – backing vocals
- Jana King – backing vocals
- Millie Kirkham – backing vocals
- Mike Lawler – keyboards
- drums
- Larry Marrs – backing vocals
- Terry McMillan – harmonica
- Farrell Morris – percussion
- Rodger Morris – keyboards
- Louis Dean Nunley – backing vocals
- Danny Parks – electric guitar
- Don Potter – acoustic guitar
- Julie Reeves – background vocals
- Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
- Pete Wade – electric guitar
- Bergen White – backing vocals
- Dennis Wilson – backing vocals
- Curtis Young – backing vocals