Download The Grand Tour: The Life and Music of George Jones AudioBook Free
In the vein of the classic Johnny Cash: The Life, this groundbreaking work explores the outdoors life and incredible musical job of "the definitive country singer of the last half hundred years" (New York Times), who affected, among others, Bob Dylan, Buck Owens, Emmylou Harris, John Fogerty, George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Garth Brooks. Inside a masterful biography loaded with new revelations, veteran country music journalist/historian Rich Kienzle offers a definitive, full-bodied portrait of famous country singer George Jones and the music that remains his legacy. Kienzle meticulously sifted through archival material, government records, and recollections by co-workers and admirers, interviewing many involved with Jones' life and job. The effect: an evocative portrait of this enormously gifted, tragically tormented icon called "the Keith Richards of country". Kienzle chronicles Jones' impoverished East Tx child years as the youngest son of a deeply religious mother and an alcoholic, often-abusive dad. He examines his three stressed marriages, including his union with superstar Tammy Wynette, and appears unsparingly at Jones' demons. Alcohol and later cocaine practically killed him until fourth better half Nancy helped him figure out how to love himself. Kienzle also details Jones' impressive musical quest from singing in violent Tx honky-tonks to Grand Ole Opry celebrity, hitmaker, and get better at vocalist whose raw, psychologically powerful delivery remains the gold standard for country singers. The George Jones of this heartfelt biography lived hard before finding contentment until he passed away at 81 - a story filled up with whiskey, women, and drugs but always the saving grace of music.
