George Jones likes his country.Story by Max Grohl
Country legend George Jones put on his cowboy boots and skipped on down to the Walworth County Fair Friday night. Jones' energy level seemed a bit slowed by the numerous fairs he has played at throughout the summer, but he was able to still breathe life into his original brand of country music.
Photo by Terry Mayer
One "Sinners and Saints" the fit looking Jones hit deep bottom and then let his voice treble back to a personal crescendo as fiddler Jim Buchanan battered the warbled lyrics with sharp dagger like strokes. "The Man I Was," off of his new album, to be released on Oct. 2nd, had all of the old rusty twang that Jones helped brand in the early days of country music. Jones' simple, yet sweet voice reached a genuine pitch as he sang a cappella versions of "Happy Anniversary" and "Happy Birthday" to some lucky people in the fairgrounds audience.
Most of Nashville has betrayed and rejected traditional country music like Jones, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings , Loretta Lynn and many more masters of the genre who speak with a simple and heartfelt honesty. Most of today's popular country artists sing inane lyrics and perform such cliche musical arrangements that it makes one long for the old days.
Jones slid into such classics as "Choices," "You Oughta Be Here With Me" and "I'm a One-Woman Man" with a sly glimmer and wink in his eye knowing that most fans in the audience would rather be listening to the fluff of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.
