Fifteen years ago, George Jones teamed up with Dolly Parton for the first time for “The Blues Man.”
Isn’t it amazing how songs are being passed around before they find the right home? Unfortunately for George Jones, he passed on quite a few that turned out into iconic hits for his fellow country singers. So in 2005, Jones decided to put an album of all the songs he wished he recorded, which he called Hits I Missed…And One I Didn’t. Of course, the one-hit he did not miss was “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” which he almost did not record too!
The tracklisting included Randy Travis’ “On The Other Hand,” Merle Haggard’s “Today I Started Loving You Again,” Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away,” and Hank Williams Jr.’s “The Blues Man.”
For his rendition of the country icon Hank Jr.’s song, Jones enlisted Dolly Parton’s help and debuted their very first “duet video.” The video started with a newspaper headline saying Jones was arrested and followed with Las Vegas’ neon lights showing that he was playing in a concert. Both Jones and Parton were standing on an empty stage, singing their respective parts.
Most fans know that Jones has a bit of a wild past, and he owned up to it in this music video. Footage of his DUI arrest was even shown as well as a marquee sign saying his show was canceled.
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It’s As If “The Blues Man” Was Written Especially For George Jones
“The Blues Man” was written entirely by Hank Jr. He has performed the song many times before, and it always seems to be a crowd favorite. The song tells the story of a singer who has been through some tough times in life. Though he admits the many mistakes that he has made, he revealed that he has since turned his life around.
The narrator knew he owes a lot to a special woman in his life who showered him with love and helped him through his struggles.
“I was alone in the hot lights, not too much left in sight, but she changed all that one night when she sang me this song. Hey baby, I love you, hey baby, I need you. Hey baby, you ain’t got to prove to me you’re some kind of macho man. You’ve wasted so much of your life runnin’ through the dark nights. Let me shine some love light down on the blues man,” the song goes.
It’s almost as though “The Blues Man” was written especially for George Jones as he is nicknamed “No Show Jones,” and has truly lived the tale of this song.
You can watch Jones and Parton’s version of the song in the music video below.
