50 Years of Hits

Infobox Album |
Name = 50 Years of Hits
Type = Compilation
Artist = George Jones

|
Released = November 09, 2004
Recorded = 1955 – 2004
Genre = Country
Length = Disc 1 – 45:04
Disc 2 – 51:07
Disc 3 – 54:18
Label = Bandit
Producer = Pappy Daily
Billy Sherrill
Norro Wilson
Buddy Cannon
Kyle Lehning
Evelyn Shriver
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5if2zff4eh2k~T0]
* Amazon Rating|5|5 [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00064AEPG]
Last album = ""
(2001)
This album = "50 Years of Hits"
(2004)
Next album = "Hits I Missed...And One I Didn't"
(2005)

"50 Years of Hits" is a country album by George Jones who was signed to Starday Records in 1953, released his first singles in 1954, and had his first hit with "Why Baby Why'" in 1955.

Jones has recorded nearly 900 songs and made hundreds of guest appearances on other artists' albums. He continues to record new projects. Billboard Magazine states that George Jones has had more charted singles than any artist in any format of music. This collection features one song per year, representing the actual year that song was released. Most of the time, the song chosen was Jones' biggest hit of that year, but sometimes it was chosen because Jones thought it was his best song that year.

All but two of the selections are original recordings. Many of the early Starday songs were rerecordings for Epic in the 70's, and two were inserted (1967 & 1968) because Musicor/Gusto refused to allow the producers to use the originals. Jones originally recorded "Good Year For The Roses" in 1970, but a much later version with Alan Jackson is used here. The inclusion of his 1981 #1 single, "Still Doin' Time", among his mid 1960s hits is an embarrassing error given the CD's pride at presenting one hit from each year or one song from each year that George recorded. That 1981 song should have appeared on Disc 2 between "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and "Same Ole Me". Instead, on here, we have his 1982 #1 single with Merle Haggard representing the year 1981, "Yesterday's Wine". "Same Ole Me" was indeed a hit single in early 1982...but it was a hit before the duet material with Merle came along...so there are several songs that appear out of chronological order. The inclusion of a 1979 duet he recorded with Waylon Jennings, "Night Life", appears out of place as it wasn't even a single pushed at radio. The CD should have included "Someday My Day Will Come" instead to represent 1979. "Radio Lover" is another example...that song was recorded in 1983 on the album Jones Country but Epic Records released it as a single in 1989 but on here, they have it listed as a 1988 single. The big hit, if you call it that, in 1988 for George was a duet with newcomer Shelby Lynne, "If I Could Bottle This Up", that reached the Top-50 on Top Country Songs but that duet single isn't featured here.

This album went Gold in 2005.

Track listing

Disc one

1955 – Why Baby Why

1956 – Just One More

1957 – Tall Tall Trees

1958 – Color of the Blues

1959 – White Lightning

1960 – Window Up Above

1961 – Tender Years

1962 – She Thinks I Still Care

1963 – You Comb Her Hair

1964 – The Race Is On

1965 – We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds (with Melba Montgomery)

1981 – Still Doin’ Time

1967 – Walk Through This World With Me

1968 – She’s Mine

1969 – I’ll Share My World With You

1994 – Good Year For the Roses (with Alan Jackson)

1971 – Take Me (with Tammy Wynette)

Disc two

1972 – A Picture of Me Without You

1973 – Once You’ve Had The Best

1974 – The Grand Tour

1975 – These Days I Barely Get By

1976 – Her Name Is

1977 – Near You (with Tammy Wynette)

1978 – Bartender’s Blues

1979 – Nightlife (with Waylon Jennings)

1980 – He Stopped Loving Her Today

1982 – Yesterday’s Wine (with Merle Haggard)

1982 – Same Ole Me

1983 – I Always Get Lucky With You

1984 – She’s My Rock

1985 – Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes

1986 – The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song)

1987 – The Right Left Hand

1988 – Radio Lover

Disc three

1989 – I'm a One Woman Man

1990 – A Few Ole Country Boys (with Randy Travis)

1991 – You Couldn’t Get The Picture

1992 – Finally Friday

1993 – I Don’t Need Your Rocking Chair

1994 – High Tech Redneck

1995 – One (with Tammy Wynette)

1996 – I Must Have Done Something Bad

1997 – When Did You Stop Loving Me

1998 – Wild Irish Rose

1999 – Choices

2000 – Cold Hard Truth

2001 – Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?) (with Garth Brooks)

2002 – 50,000 Names

2003 – I Got Everything

2004 – Amazing Grace

Producers

* Compilation Produced by Evelyn Shriver

* Associate Producers Susan Nadler and Michael Campbell

* Art Direction Virginia Team and Luellyn Latocki

* Design by Don Baily for Latocki Team Creative, Nashville, TN

* Compilation engineered for release by Custom Mastering, Inc.

On The Charts

Album – Billboard (North America)

External links

* [http://www.georgejones.com/ George Jones' Official Website]

* [http://www.banditrecords.com/ Record Label]