When Johnny Cash was asked to name his favorite country singer, Johnny Cash answered with a question: “You mean besides George Jones?”
That remarkable compliment appeared in a 1991 music industry advertisement promoting a new George Jones album. Right alongside Johnny Cash’s words was another tribute, this time from Waylon Jennings.
Neither Johnny Cash nor Waylon Jennings was known for handing out praise lightly. Both had spent years developing voices that country music fans could recognize within seconds. Yet both held George Jones in extraordinary regard.
Merle Haggard felt much the same way. And unlike many stories about famous musicians praising one another, the admiration between Merle Haggard and George Jones came with decades of personal history.
Waylon Jennings Put His Admiration Into a Song
In 1980, Waylon Jennings released the album Music Man, which included a song called “It’s Alright.”
In the song, Waylon Jennings acknowledged George Jones’s unpredictable reputation while suggesting that George Jones possessed the voice other singers wished they had.
It was a memorable compliment from a musician who had fought hard to establish an independent sound in Nashville.
Waylon Jennings didn’t sing like George Jones. Johnny Cash didn’t either. Their styles were entirely different, which makes their admiration especially interesting.
George Jones could stretch a single word, bend a note, or change the emphasis of a familiar lyric until the song sounded completely personal. Other singers noticed those details, even when ordinary listeners couldn’t explain exactly what they were hearing.
The Night George Jones Heard Merle Haggard Sing
Merle Haggard first met George Jones in 1961 at the Blackboard nightclub in Bakersfield, California.
Years later, Merle Haggard recalled that George Jones had already developed a reputation for drinking and occasionally missing performances.
On the night of their meeting, George Jones was being given coffee in a small office while Merle Haggard performed Marty Robbins’ “Devil Woman” onstage.
George Jones heard the singing and came out of the office, demanding to know who was performing.
That encounter began a relationship built on mutual respect.
Merle Haggard later remembered how meaningful it was when George Jones described Merle Haggard as a favorite country singer. The admiration was clearly shared.
Following George Jones’s death on April 26, 2013, Merle Haggard wrote a tribute for TIME magazine. Merle Haggard called George Jones the greatest country singer who ever lived.
Merle Haggard specifically praised “She Thinks I Still Care” and compared the emotional delivery of “He Stopped Loving Her Today” to fine opera.
Vince Gill Explained What Made the Voice Different
In a December 2008 interview published by The Washington Post, Vince Gill offered a musician’s explanation for the appeal of George Jones.
Vince Gill admired more than the natural sound of the voice. The real distinction, according to Vince Gill, was the phrasing: the small decisions George Jones made about when to hold a note, shorten a phrase, or let emotion come through.
Those techniques helped George Jones turn recordings such as “The Grand Tour,” “She Thinks I Still Care,” and “He Stopped Loving Her Today” into enduring country standards.
But George Jones had a surprisingly difficult time explaining those qualities personally.
What George Jones Said About His Own Voice
During that same 2008 interview, journalist J. Freedom du Lac asked George Jones about the praise from fellow musicians and the qualities that made the singing so distinctive.
George Jones admitted that, despite hearing countless compliments, George Jones had never fully understood how to explain the difference.
George Jones believed the ability came largely from an instinctive feeling and a natural gift. George Jones also recognized that early influences, including Roy Acuff, had helped shape the singing style.
Then George Jones emphasized something that often gets overlooked when people celebrate a great vocalist:
“It’s the song that makes the singer.”
George Jones believed that even an exceptional voice needed strong songwriting. The right song gave a singer something worth expressing.
That belief helps explain the importance of songs such as “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman. The composition provided the story, while George Jones’s performance gave every line its unmistakable character.
A Voice That Other Great Singers Admired
George Jones died at 81, leaving behind decades of recordings and a complicated personal history. The missed concerts and troubled years were real, but so was the respect from fellow musicians.
Johnny Cash admired the voice. Waylon Jennings celebrated the voice in a song. Merle Haggard remembered the voice with affection and respect.
George Jones, meanwhile, remained reluctant to take all the credit. Even after a lifetime of praise, George Jones continued to point toward the songs and the people who wrote them.
For country music fans, that is another reason to return to those recordings. Whether it’s “The Grand Tour,” “She Thinks I Still Care,” or “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” the words and George Jones’s delivery are difficult to separate.