Friday, December 03, 2021

George & Tammy: It's An Old Love Thing (1995)

The two had been divorced since 1976, and hadn't recorded together since 1980, but, out of the blue, just as I was discovering both of them for the first time in 1994, they put out this album, "One"---I was thrilled. And thought the whole world would receive it as if the Beatles had gotten back together! But, nah... Even the country world wasn't that excited---it reached only #12 on the US Country Billboard chart. (Regardless of who was or was not excited, the fact that George Jones and Tammy Wynette made another album together after 15 years was actually a very big deal.)

"One" was the last album that Tammy Wynette recorded. She died at age 55 in April 1998. George Jones died at age 81 in April 2013. I was able to see him twice in concert in the late '90s: At the Travis County Expo Center, and at Stubb's in Austin. (At the latter event, where I was in the 2nd row with my friend Jerry, the great UT coach Darrell Royal was in attendance, seated in an area above the main floor. George acknowledged him, to great applause. George also made eye contact with me during the show---that sounds wishful on my part, perhaps, but... In all of the shows I've been to, I only remember eye contact with two performers: Kathy Valentine of the Go-Gos at Austin's Erwin Center in the '80s, and George Jones at the Stubbs show. So maybe it's true.)


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