His career is loaded with hits from the 1950s all the way to the 2000s and with a body of work like that, lists such as this one are usually hard to come by. While we could likely do a second and third list of 10 great George Jones singles, these songs here represent the 10 best of The Possum's legendary career. Originally scheduled to be posted later this year, with the news of his passing, we couldn't help but want to remember George for the music he gave the world. We hope you enjoy this list as much as we did crafting it.
1. He Stopped Loving Her Today
The obvious -- if only -- choice of song to be the best song George Jones has ever recorded. After all, it is considered to be the best Country song in the history of Country songs (which says something, right there). It's like a partner to "The Grand Tour." There's not much to say about this other than it's heartbraking.
2. The Grand Tour
Few singers sang or sing heartbreak quite like George Jones. One listen to "The Grand Tour" from George and it's easy to see why the song is the standard from which all songs of divorce are matched. It's heartbreaking and no artist could perform such a song as well as George Jones and that's why it's one of the best country songs ever recorded.
3. A Picture Of Me (Without You)
Ballads like this simply aren't played that often on Today's country radio. Lord knows it must be because that these kinds of songs are considered too slow for the modern listening audience but it's a true sad state of the world when emotional songs like this song of an imagined life without the narrator's lover in it. Even a love song sounds heartbreaking when coming from George Jones.
4. Why Baby Why
The first single of George Jones' career in 1955, "Why Baby Why" remains one of his most iconic songs and was the first single for George from his record deal with Starday Records after many other unsuccessful singles for small record labels. The song has been recorded by many artists with the most famous being Red Sovine & Webb Pierce scoring a #1 hit 1956 and Charley Pride scoring a #1 with the song in 1983. Even with those artists' success with the single, George Jones remains the standard from which all other artists have tried to match.
5. White Lightning
Recorded in 1959, "White Lightning" was the first of more than a dozen #1 hits on the various Country Music chats. It may have been a 'ditty' but it was and still remains an iconic song and is certainly one the performers of Lower Broadway's Honky Tonks in Nashville continue to perform to this day.
6. Walk Through This World With Me
A hit from 1967, "Walk Through This World With Me" was the fourth #1 hit of George Jones' career and finds him singing a romantic ode to a woman. In thre song he's asking her to marry him and to spend the rest of their lives together. A timeless song and one of George's best.
7. Choices
Given his legend as "No Show Jones" and the chronicle of his life as a man who had a legendary battle with the bottle, "Choices" is clearly one of the best singles of George Jones' career. Even if The Billy Yates-penned tune never became better than the Top 30 hit it was, it deserves to be on this list.. It still went on to earn George Jones one of his only Grammy awards and it serves as a reminder of the power that country music songs have, especially when connected to the artists that sing them.
8. Golden Ring (W/Tammy Wynette)
One of the amazing things about this single is that it was recorded after George and Tammy had divorced. But, if you actually pay attention to the lyrics in the song, it talks about how the symbolism and what the wedding ring represents means nothing if there's not love in the marriage bonded by that golden wedding ring.
9. She Thinks I Still Care
Another classic, "She Thinks I Still Care" is a song that spent six weeks at #1 in 1962 for George Jones. A shufflin' mid tempo, the song has lyrics that talk about a man who still is around the woman's world because they live in the same town and go to the same places but he wants her to know that he actually doesn't still care for her in the way she thinks he does.
10. Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes
George Jones was quite possibly singing about himself when he recorded "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes," a song which featured lyrics about his contemporaries Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Hank Williams and more. It's a brilliant ode to Country's classic stars and now we can add George Jones to this list. We'll miss you George but we thank you for all the great music and we'll most certainly never forget you.
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