 George Jones first hit the charts in the 1950's. In April 1999, he celebrated the 40th Anniversary of his first Number One record, White Lightning. It was also the year that Jones won his second Grammy as Best Male Country Vocalist for his performance on the single "Choices." His only previous Grammy was in 1981 for his performance of "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Jones' Gold-selling 1999 COLD HARD TRUTH CD reminded fans and critics alike why he's considered "the greatest living country singer." "Choices," the first single from that album marked his 164th charted record. The Keith Stegall produced project earned Jones some of the best reviews of his already illustrious career and ensured his place in the new millennium of country music. Whether the times have favored honky tonk songs or lushly produced "pop" offerings, George Jones has continued to make his brand of country music, which has produced hits in every decade of the second half of the 20th century. In fact, Jones has had more charted singles than any other artist in any format in the history of popular music. In 2001 Shriver and Nadler formed Bandit Records. Not only was Jones the first artist signed to the label, he became a principle partner in the venture. Bandit then formed a joint venture with BMG's BNA label for sales, marketing and promotion services. GEORGE JONES THE ROCK is the first release under the BNA/Bandit banner. THE ROCK was recorded in two phases: the first group of songs were produced in 2000 by Emory Gordy, Jr. including the first single, "The Man He Was" written by Harley Allen and John Wiggins. The second stage was recorded in July, 2001 and was produced by Keith Stegall. A pivotal song on the album is the emotion-wrenching "50,000 Names," written by Jamie O'Hara who had also contributed the title tune, "Cold Hard Truth." The song speaks of the heartaches and destruction experienced by so many as symbolized by the Vietnam Wall. His COLD HARD TRUTH project proved that George Jones is still "hotter than a $2.00 pistol" and is poised to continue his amazing music legacy with the BNA/BAndit release, THE ROCK.
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