‘George Jones: The Lost Nashville Sessions’

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Album of ‘lost’ George Jones tracks set for Nov. 15 release

A new George Jones album? With never-before-released tracks?  Really?

Yes, really. Set for national release on November 15, George Jones: The Lost Nashville Sessions (Country Rewind Records) includes sixteen tracks that have never been commercially available until now. Preorder / stream George Jones: The Lost Nashville Sessions here.

They were originally intended exclusively for radio airplay in the 1970s; recorded often in just one or two takes in Scotty Moore’s Nashville studio with an announcer’s voice added between the songs. These mini-programs were then shipped to radio stations that would broadcast them, then simply discard or destroy them.

In an act of audio archeology, Country Rewind President and Executive Producer Thomas Gramuglia discovered the original master tapes, still in their original boxes, and knew that George Jones’ vast army of fans would want to hear these unique recordings.

After decades in storage, the tapes were in a fragile condition.  Gramuglia assigned the tapes to Nashville producer Paul Martin, a multi-instrumentalist and former member of pop-country band Exile and founder of his family band Rockland Road. 

Martin ‘rescued’ the recordings, removing the announcements, cleaning up the audio, and bringing the sound quality up to modern standards, discretely adding instrumentation under Jones’ voice where necessary. 

“When I loaded these tracks into my computer, I immediately realized I was hearing George singing the best I had ever heard him,” said Martin. “I can’t wait for the world to hear this album. It captures a unique moment in time when George was at the top of his game.”

Some of the song titles will be familiar to George Jones fans – "The Race Is On," "The Grand Tour," "White Lightnin'," "Tender Years" – while others such as "Old Brush Arbors," "She’s Mine," "Four-O-Thirty-Three" and “The Honky Tonk Downstairs” are lesser known than his classic hits. Listen to “The Honky Tonk Downstairs” here.

Even on the familiar titles, Jones’ voice sounds more relaxed on this album, free of the pressure that would have come with cutting take after take on a single song, feeling the urgency of chasing the next elusive hit.

"Music truly is the gift that keeps giving," shared Nancy Jones, George Jones’ widow in a media release. "Even after all these years, we’re still releasing new music from George. This collection features sixteen songs, and while some may be familiar hits, these versions are ones you’ve never heard before. I’m thrilled to share them with all of his devoted fans."

In addition to the new George Jones album, Country Rewind Records has issued many other albums consisting of previously unreleased ‘lost’ recordings by classic country artists such as Conway Twitty, Waylon Jennings, Connie Smith, Faron Young, Mickey Gilley, Jeannie C. Riley, Bobby Helms, Rex Allen and many more.  Additional albums are on tap for future release. Find a full list at Country Rewind Records website. #CountryRewindRecords

• In a sad postscript, Country Rewind Records President Thomas Gramuglia passed away just weeks before the release of the George Jones album. A true fan and champion of the artists whose recordings he treasured and loved to share with fellow fans, Tom was a beloved friend who will live forever in my heart.

Full disclosure: I wrote the liner notes for George Jones: The Lost Nashville Sessions.