Ragged But Right

There are those seemingly unique names that identify a musical hero, such as Elvis, Madonna or Prince, and there are those that are mundane in the extreme. George Jones, is one such: there have been many George Joneses in the history of recorded music - jazz, blues, rock, pop and classical have all seen their fair shares of George Joneses - yet mention that name and it is likely that people who are not even fans of country music will think of the man that was once "The Possum"; the spiritual heir to the legacy of Hank Williams, who married Tammy Wynette at the height of her popularity and was infamous for his rock 'n' roll lifestyle of excessive drinking and drug-taking, earning him a reputation as "No Show Jones", before kicking the addictions and earning a better reputation…as, simply, "The Greatest Living Country Singer".

This important compilation brings together, for the first time, the birth of the legend. Collecting all the A- and B-sides of every one of Jones' early singles for the Texas-based Starday label from his recording debut in January 1954 through the switch to the major Mercury Records in 1957 and on into 1959 when he crossed over into the mainstream pop charts and beyond. Featuring no less than 18 US Country and Pop chart smash hits, these include the original versions of "Why Baby Why" (1955), "Gonna Come Get You" (1956) and "White Lightnin'" (1959) as well as "Don't Stop The Music", "Color Of The Blues", "Who Shot Sam?" and "Big Harlan Taylor".

In addition to this proud legacy of stone honky-tonk and country gospel, also offered is George's secret history when, hiding behind pseudonyms such as Thumper Jones or Hank Smith, he recorded cover versions of country hits for various mail-order record companies and along the way was responsible for some of the wildest rockabilly to be recorded outside of Memphis.