George Jones---Cancelling Shows

I just wanted to mention something about George Jones. We know that he is now 79 years old, and for those who have seen and heard him lately, including his last couple appearances at the Opry, it is apparent that his once great voice is not as good right now as it once was. He is having lots of difficulty reaching the higher notes in his range, and I have also heard that at his most recent concerts, there is less of him and more of his band and back up singers.

I say that in leading up to this. Last night he was scheduled to appear in Akron, Ohio, and it was a show that I was planning on attending. On Wednesday, it was announced that he was cancelling the show and rescheduling it for February, because of illness. Specifically, that he was having trouble with his voice. He had a show scheduled for tonight in Pennsylvania, and that show was cancelled also. The people in Wilkes-Barre are saying that they were told that George is ill. The promoter there said George's next show is scheduled on December 30 in Louisiana, and that George's website makes no mention of George being ill.

I also did some checking and saw that these are not the first shows that George has cancelled this year. In the past several months, it looks like several shows have been cancelled, including one in Florida in October.

Various rumors are being reported and commented on. One is that George's health is not all that good. It was noted that he and Nancy did cancel their annual Christmas display at his home, although the reason given was traffic concerns in Franklin. Along with his health, it has been reported that he has been having voice issues and the reviews of his recent shows have not been all that good. Another report has been that ticket sales for both of these shows were pretty slow, with not much of a pre-sale.

Finally, and I hope that this is not the case, various people are making comments that maybe, since it involves George Jones, there is more to this story. I have not heard anything that would lead me to believe that. I does make me sad for George that every story that I read regarding the cancellation of the Akron show, points out that his nickname is "No Show Jones" and that he has a history of alcohol and drug abuse. Like I said, I hope there is nothing to these rumors and I am sure there is not, and that it is just ill informed people making comments. I know it is hard to shake a reputation, but as I commented on 1 on line story, give the guy a break. He is 79 years old now, has had a hard public life, and maybe the fact is that he is having voice issues and feels bad about performing when he is not in top form.

I hope for the best for George and that he does get to feeling better and that he is able to get his voice back in shape. To many George is country music's greatest singer and nothing should take away from that.