GEORGE JONES & TAMMY WYNETTE - GOLDEN RING

GOLDEN RING

GEORGE JONES & TAMMY WYNETTE

SONGWRITERS: RAFE VAN HOY & BOBBY BRADDOCK

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: GOLDEN RING

LABEL: EPIC RECORDS

GENRE: COUNTRY

YEAR: 1976

 

             George Glenn Jones(September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", as well as his distinctive voice and phrasing. For the last two decades of his life, Jones was frequently referred to as the greatest living country singer. Country music scholar Bill Malone writes, "For the two or three minutes consumed by a song, Jones immerses himself so completely in its lyrics, and in the mood it conveys, that the listener can scarcely avoid becoming similarly involved." The shape of his nose and facial features earned Jones the nickname "The Possum". Jones has been called "The Rolls Royce of Country Music" and had more than 160 chart singles to his name from 1955 until his death in 2013.

             Born in Texas, Jones first heard country music when he was seven, and was given a guitar at the age of nine. His earliest influences were Roy Acuff and Bill Monroe, although the artistry of Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell would crystallize his vocal style. He married his first wife, Dorothy Bonvillion, in 1950, and was divorced in 1951. He served in the United States Marine Corps and was discharged in 1953. He married Shirley Ann Corley in 1954. In 1959, Jones recorded "White Lightning", written by J. P. Richardson, which launched his career as a singer. His second marriage ended in divorce in 1968; he married fellow country music singer Tammy Wynette a year later. Years of alcoholism compromised his health and led to his missing many performances, earning him the nickname "No Show Jones". After his divorce from Wynette in 1975, Jones married his fourth wife, Nancy Sepulvado, in 1983 and became sober for good in 1999. Jones died in 2013, aged 81, from hypoxic respiratory failure.

         Golden Ring is the seventh studio album by American country music artists George Jones and Tammy Wynette, released in August 1976 on the Epic Records label. It reached Nº 1 on the Billboard Country Album chart. The singles "Near You" and "Golden Ring" both reached Nº 1 on the Country Singles chart.

In a pawn shop in Chicago

On a sunny summer day

A couple gazes at the

Wedding rings there on display

She smiles and nods her head

As he says, "Honey that's for you

It's not much but it's the best that I can do"

 

Golden ring (golden ring)

With one tiny little stone

Waiting there (waiting there)

For someone to take it home

By itself (by itself)

It's just a cold metalic thing

Only love can make a golden wedding ring

 

In a little wedding chapel

Later on that afternoon

An old upright piano

Plays that old familiar tune

Tears roll down her cheeks

And happy thoughts run through her head

As he whispers low, "With this ring I thee wed"

 

Golden ring (golden ring)

With one tiny little stone

Shining ring (shining ring)

Now at last it's found a home

By itself (by itself)

It's just a cold metalic thing

Only love can make a golden wedding ring

 

In a small two room apartment

As they fight their final round

He says, "You won't admit it

But I know you're leavin' town"

She says, "One thing's for certain

I don't love you anymore"

And throws down the ring

As she walks out the door

 

Golden ring (golden ring)

With one tiny little stone

Cast aside (cast aside)

Like the love that's dead and gone

By itself (by itself)

It's just a cold metalic thing

Only love can make a golden wedding ring

 

In a pawn shop in Chicago

On a sunny summer day

A couple gazes at the

Wedding rings there on display.