I Lived to Tell It All [Paperback]

George Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 1997

Strong and sober, George Jones looks back on his life with searing candor. From his roots in an impoverished East Texas family to his years of womanizing, boozing, brawling, and singing with the voice that made him a star, his story is a nonstop rollercoaster ride of the price of fame. It is also the story of how the love of a good woman, his wife Nancy, helped him clean up his act.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Country music star Jones started performing in rural Texas bars when he was 14 and rose to fame in spite of heavy drinking, drugging, brawling and a penchant for not showing up at his concerts. Writing with Carter, coauthor of books with Ralph Emery, Reba McEntire and others, he lays bare his troubled past, including an account of his disastrous marriage to country singer Tammy Wynette. It's not a pleasant story, and Jones himself is amazed that his career has prospered in spite of everything he has done to destroy it. Now 65 and recovered from a triple bypass operation, he claims he has conquered his addictions and settled into a happy marriage. There are no insights here about his musical abilities or the reasons for his success, but Jones makes sobering comments on the state of country music today, which he observes is mass-marketed and mass-produced for the young with total disregard for the older performers like himself who started it all. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Having recorded over 250 albums, George Jones is considered by many critics to be the greatest country music singer of all time. He is also a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, having miraculously survived such a massive chemical ingestion that it makes many rockers-of-repute look like mere amateurs. This book effectively combines all three tales: Jones's rise into and maintenance of country stardom, his collapse into addiction, and his painful crawl out of its pit. Jones's writing, colloquial but not corny, captures and holds the reader easily. While the primary focus is on Jones's career and conflicts, we also see much of both the country music world as a whole and many of its most prominent individual figures. This is a truly remarkable story of an individual's battle with and triumph over chemical addiction?musician or not. As such, it is strongly recommended for any collection in this area as well as for popular music collections. Don't miss this book.?Bill Piekarski, Southwestern Coll. Lib., Chula Vista, Cal.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Dell (June 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440223733
• ISBN-13: 978-0440223733
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Entertainers
  • #54 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > General

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here it is!!, January 4, 2004

By 

Jerry McDaniel - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Lived to Tell It All (Paperback)

the book every George Jones fan has been waiting for finally arrived in 1996. I Lived To Tell It All was a best-seller, hitting the Top-20 and Top-10 on many book charts both local and national. The book was designed to be a classic simply because the subject matter, George, was so reluctant to talk about his life in any serious, detailed conversations probably feeling that his life story wasn't interesting. anytime the topic came up, George would characteristically brush off the topic with phrases like "people don't want to hear about my life!" or "i don't want to bore the fans with my life-story". All his fans had were piles of negative news articles and rumors from other books and articles, nothing legitimate until this book! MCA also released a major hit album of the same name in 1996 to help promote awareness of the book. The CD was a #26 smash. In reality, the book helped promote the CD...but that's another story. This book was technically "written" by Tom Carter based and built on stories and opinions from George himself. A lot of people were interviewed for material and true stories about George. These book "sessions" as i call them came along in 1995 amidst George's reunion tour with Tammy. A lot of George's opinions on country music post 1990 is dealt with in the later chapters since each chapter deals with George's career chronologically: The beginnings are in the early chapters, the middle years are in the middle chapters, and the recent goings on are in the last chapters. His complaint is that country radio, in the wake of Garth Brooks having huge success on the Pop Album chart, decided that anyone who couldn't put up huge numbers weren't going to get airplay. George cites that country radio's lack of airplay of his singles prevents the mass audience of hearing him and as a result they won't go out and buy his albums as much as they would someone with radio support. It's a valid argument because if the public at large remains unaware that an artist has a new CD out, chances are they won't be out looking for it and potentially buy it...and without those SALES coming in, country radio won't play that artist...see how everything goes hand-in-hand? you can't have one without the other. The Porter Waggoner story is hilarious as are the escapades with Buck Owens and how George reacted to being in the "opening act" category. Another favorite story involves Johnny PayCheck and a certain trip on a tour bus where PayCheck and George get into an argument. PayCheck yells that he's gonna whip George's you know what! George agrees to step outside the bus at the next stop and they'd fight it out...PayCheck leaps out of the bus getting ready to duke it out with George...who instructs the bus driver to take off...leaving PayCheck stranded in the middle of nowhere! Later, they went back for him, thanks to George being talked into it! I howled with laughter at that story! other stories like that are in this book, all did in a style that suggests that George isn't proud of his actions in the past but since he can't change it he oughta at least laugh about it since that's about all that anyone in his situation could possibly do. In another controversial section, George admits that he still drinks a beer or two...but nothing "hard" like Vodka or Whiskey. Alcoholism is a disease, first and foremost. Like any curable disease, it's bound to relapse over a period of time. His 1999 SUV accident was a result of that relapse. This book, however, was written in 1996 at a time when MANY honestly felt that George had nothing MAJOR to live through and as a result his 'story' was near complete...nobody saw that 1999 accident coming!! This review is based on the original hard-cover edition.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome! A must-have for any Jones fan or music lover!, January 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: I Lived to Tell It All (Paperback)

This book is the king of all autobiographies. George Jones, the greatest country singer of all time, HAS lived to tell it, but it's hard to believe. From stories about growing up in Texas with a drunk father, a religious mother, and more than a few close siblings, to tales of corrupt policemen and drug dealers holding him down and shoving cocaine up his nose, to the story of the woman who saved him and herself, this book "tells it all." In the book, George talks about cutting his first record, but only to be told by a local DJ that it's not very good. You will read about the fun times, the bad times, the drunk times, and the near fatal incidents on the road with other stars such as Johnny Cash, Faron Young, and Buck Owens. Jones writes about getting his first number one, his bouts with booze, his marriage to Tammy Wynnette, his cocaine addiction, and finally, his current wife Nancy. If you think you know George Jones, think again. This book grabs hold of you and doesn't let go as Jones, along with Tom Carter and the help of past friends and acquaintances, tells the real story behind all the news articles and rumors that you've probably heard in past years. Along with all the self exsposing stories, Jones adds his own insights, comments, and opinions about life, today's music industry, drugs and alcohol, love, and finally, self-peace. This book is a great read that will either insprire you to or totally discourage you from becoming a country singer. I strongly recommend you read this book. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You will..."live to read it all"...and you'll be glad you did!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The biography of the craziest man, ever, March 26, 2006

By 

Brooks Neil (Succasunna, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Lived to Tell It All (Hardcover)

I watched 'Walk the Line' and 'Coal Miner's Daughter' and Elvis Presly specials. I've read biographies of Hendrix, Duane Allman, and Janis Joplin. None of their lives hold a candle to ol' George Jones. His career rode the top of the charts as good as any country legend. He ruined his life at least as incredibly as any rock star. And amazingly, he lived through it all and still plays shows for his fans. Lastly, his life has a happy ending (thus far).

No one's story parallels George. Read this book for yourself to see.