The Legend of George Jones: His Life and Death

by Peanutt Montgomery

  HERITAGE BUILDERS PUBLISHING

  © 2014 by Charlene Montgomery

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law.

  First Edition 2014

  Contributing Editor, Dr. Sherman Smith

  Cover Design, Carolyn LaPorte

  Book Design, Keith Bennett

  Published by Heritage Builders Publishing

  Clovis, Monterey California 93619

  www.HeritageBuilders.com 1-888-898-9563

  ISBN 978-1-940242-20-0

  Printed and bound in the United States of America.

  Cover Photo Photography: Michael Ochs Archives

  Collection: Michael Ochs Archives

  Tammy Wynette photos courtesy of BMI Archives

  Ce document numérique a été réalisé par Nord Compo.

  Sommaire

  Cover

  Title

  Copyright

  Table of contents

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments - Charlene MontgomerySpecial friends

  Special thanks to my family

  In loving memory

  Foreword - Tanya Tucker

  Introduction - How This Book Came to Be

  The legend of george jonesChapter One - Memories of the Big Thicket

  Chapter Two - The Streets of Beaumont

  Chapter Three - Dorothy Bonvillian Wife Number One

  Chapter Four - Marriage, Marines, Music and Money

  Chapter Five - Pappy Daily (Founder of George Jones)

  Chapter Six - Shirley Corley–Wife Number Two

  Chapter Seven - A Man Can Be a Drunk, But a Drunk Can’t Be a Man

  Chapter Eight - Melba Montgomery, Duet Partner

  Chapter Nine - Possum and Peanutt Two Peas in a Pod

  Chapter Ten - Virginia Wynette Pugh– Wife Number Three

  Chapter Eleven - George and Tammy– Two Legends Under One Roof

  Chapter Twelve - Billy Sherrill– Founder of Tammy Wynette

  Chapter Thirteen - Short Stories That Will Live Long

  Chapter Fourteen - Linda (Welborn) (Jones) Dodson Wife Number Four - (Written by Linda Jones)

  Chapter Fifteen - The Truth Shall Prevail

  Chapter Sixteen - The Dark Days of a White Substance

  Chapter Seventeen - Nancy Sepulvado, Wife Number Five

  Chapter Eighteen - What My Woman Can’t Do, Can’t Be Done

  Chapter Nineteen - A Day of Reckoning

  Chapter Twenty - Reflections

  Epilogue - You Can’t Judge a Book by its Cover, A Hard Act to Follow and the Grand Tour

  Discography - The Legend of George Jones

  Photos

  DEDICATION

  * * *

  Dedicated to

  Victoria Rae Bullion

  (my granddaughter)

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  * * *

  Charlene Montgomery

  I wish to thank my husband, Earl Peanutt Montgomery, for his understanding and encouragement. Without him, this book could not have been written.

  I wish to thank Dr. Sherman Smith for believing in the book and for his willingness to publish it. He spent countless hours writing, editing, and working to make the book a reality.

  I wish to thank my agent, Paul Chisenhall. He introduced my publisher to me and spent his time helping bring the book to a contract. I thank his wife, Beth, and his two daughters, Lauren and Lindsey. They spent many hours typing from handwritten transcripts that made the editing possible.

  I wish to thank Steve Turner and his wife, Sherry, for the time they spent making sure the correct information always got to our Publisher and for all the encouragement they gave to us.

  Special friends

  Dallas and Sharon Frazier made an impact on my life, and their influence has made me a better person. I cherish their friendship.

  Jimmy and Sue Richards have been loyal friends for over fifty years. We share together so many memories of George Jones and Tammy Wynette.

  Billy Robertson remained a true and loyal friend through all the good and bad times Peanutt and I experienced through the years.

  Jimmie, Frances, and Meloni Raburn for their love and support through all the years that we’ve been friends.

  Gail and Sheila Murray for the love, respect, and friendship they have always shown.

  Gary and MaLea Scales for their friendship, love, laughter, and for the many fun times we’ve shared.

  April Kimbrell is a special friend to Peanutt and me.

  Gay (Willingham) Cole for being my friend since my childhood. She is as close as a sister to me.

  Connie Spencer is my aunt, but she is more like my sister. She’s always supported and been there for me.

  Nital Patel is a special person in my life. She will always be a part of my family and me.

  Johnny Kindred is my long-time George Jones loving buddy.

  Mark Holt is my nephew and has a special love and care for us.

  Charlotte Carmack is a good friend and is so bubbly and full of joy.

  Brother Tom and Verna Malone is our Pastor and wife. They spent a lot of time with George, Peanutt, and me encouraging us to live better lives and to become better people.

  Bill Allen of Spurger, Texas is a dear friend and first cousin of George Jones. Bill called many times wanting to know if this book is finished, and it finally is.

  Special thanks to my family

  Irene (Green) Bentley was such a loving and caring mother. I have never known a greater love than my mother had for me.

  James, Travis, Harold, Kenneth, and Jerry Green are the best brothers I could ever have.

  Nell Lee, Paulene Thomas, and Linda Welborn Jones Dodson are extra special to me because of the closeness we’ve shared as sisters.

  Teresa True Hartzog Bullion and Dorothy Montgomery are my loving daughters. They have proved that broken fences can be mended, and the chain of love has no weak links. Their loving bond will hold us together forever.

  In loving memory

  James Alvin Green was my caring but stern daddy. He faithfully provided for his wife and nine children. The very threat of his belt kept me out of a heap of trouble. He died of heart failure at age fifty-four.

  Don and Patricia Gentry lost their lives on April 27, 2011 when a tornado hit Phil Campbell, Alabama. I was talking to Patricia on the phone when she and Don were blown away. They were special friends, and I miss them.

  Kevin Whorton was our DJ friend who played our music for twenty-four years on WLAY Radio in North Alabama. He was a dyed-in-the-wool George Jones fan.

  Bobby LaFaye Taylor of Panama, Oklahoma lost his life to a heart attack. He was a dear friend, and a major help in our church and ministry.

  Jimmy Russell of Pearland, Texas. Jimmy was a dear friend and George Jones’ first manager. Jimmy’s mother was so proud of him being on the road with George because she trusted Jimmy so much.

  All the Praises and anything good that should come out of this book are to be given to our Savior The Lord Jesus Christ.

  FOREWORD

  * * *

  Tanya Tucker

  I have known Charlene and Peanutt Montgomery since I was a little girl. My daddy and mother brought me to Nashville when I was nine years old seeking to record my first song and to help my family with the expenses of staying in Nashville, the Montgomery’s asked us to come and stay with them for a while. I love Charlene and Peanutt and have known and been friends with
them all my life. Charlene and I wrote a commercial for Sealy Mattress Company one time, and I have recorded some of Peanutt’s greatest songs. My first number one hit was “What’s Your Mama’s Name” one of Peanutt’s greatest songs in my opinion.

  I believe of all the people who knew and loved George Jones, Charlene Montgomery is among the most qualified to write this book. She knows the life of George Jones like no other person. She was with him through the heartaches, troubles, battles that raged through him, and yet she defended George and loved him for whom he was. Charlene was with him during his marriages, the birth of his children, and the storied career as George and her husband Peanutt became one of the most famous teams of singer/songwriters in music history.

  I was asked to write this Foreword by the Publisher because of my life-long friendship with George, and I count it a privilege to do it. George was my loyal friend, my mentor, and I could call on him for anything I needed. He would always have time to talk to me about serious matters, or we would just enjoy each other’s company and have fun singing, making up songs, and being ourselves. We were known to pull some stuff on occasion and get ourselves in a bit of trouble.

  I know the circumstances that played a role in some of George’s behavior, but people judged him who didn’t really know him. He was a good man with a kind heart, and he certainly took an interest in me and helped my career. I had the privilege of singing at his funeral; a moment in time I will cherish forever.

  You will love this book because Charlene, in her colorful vernacular, tells it like it is and takes no prisoners. She took nothing from George Jones she didn’t want to take, but he respected her and loved her from the moment he met her. He was her friend. In this book, Charlene sets the record straight and shows the other side of George Jones you won’t read in the tabloids and hateful books written by people who were jealous of his accomplishments. He was and will remain The King of Country Music.

  Tanya Tucker

  Multiple Grammy Award Winner

  INTRODUCTION

  * * *

  How This Book Came to Be

  It has been my privilege to work with Charlene Montgomery on this book. I am the first to admit that I had no country music background and didn’t know much about George Jones or his life. I followed the stories of George and Tammy Wynette and was sad when their marriage came to an end, but I had no clue why or how that happened. Today, I am a huge fan of George Jones and Country Music. I know this man, his family, and his story.

  I received a call from Paul Chisenhall, Agent for Charlene Montgomery, and he asked if I would be interested in talking about an author he was going to represent. I agreed, and I made the trip from California to Muscle Shoals, Alabama where the Montgomery’s live.

  I had heard of Muscle Shoals and knew that some major stars had come out of there but had not been in the area before. I was struck that this small place had such a pedigree of big singers and music producers. Paul presented me with a manuscript entitled The Good Side of George Jones.

  The Montgomery’s, Paul Chisenhall, and Steve Turner, who is an independent music producer, and I met at Shoney’s Restaurant in Sheffield, Alabama. We literally went through two meals, and I was introduced to Peanutt’s song writing ability by the music that was playing in the dining area. Almost every five minutes, they were playing a song that Peanutt had written or co-written, and I was introduced to a couple of talented music geniuses that I had previously never known.

  I was awarded the contract to publish the book, and it was then that I asked Peanutt if he could write a song with the same title as the book. We changed the name to The Legend of George Jones, and Peanutt had the song, The Legend of George Jones, written by mid-afternoon. That song, along with several other songs written by Peanutt Montgomery and sung by George Jones, is included on a CD as part of this book. This concept of a legend singer with his main legend songwriter of thirty years merging into an album and book with the same title has never been done before and is not likely to be done again. You are reading a piece of music history.

  Charlene Montgomery is a colorful and pleasant lady who is extremely talented. It has been a pleasure working with her. She did an excellent job keeping the timelines, dates, names, and information as accurate as I have ever seen done over such a long span of time. Charlene truly is the only person qualified to write this book. She was with George Jones through five marriages and the birth of all his children. She knows George Jones better than most of his wives do. She and Peanutt were with George most of the time for years, and Tammy Wynette was Charlene’s best friend.

  I got involved with George Jones and his family through this book. Sue Jones, Jeffery Jones’ wife, was instrumental in keeping me informed about the events that took place from the Jones childrens’ point of view through the years with their famous dad. Story after story unfolded, and it would take a library to contain all the books that could be written about this legendary singer.

  I know you will enjoy the book and the music.

  Dr. Sherman Smith

  THE LEGEND OF

  GEORGE JONES

  * * *

  * * *

  CHAPTER ONE

  Memories of the Big Thicket

  * * *

  The look on George’s face clearly shows that he enjoys talking about his childhood days. He lived in a small community in East Texas, known as “The Big Thicket.” His memory in the last days of his life was as keen as it ever was and allowed him to spit out stories of those days as vivid as if they had only happened yesterday.

  Most people that lived in The Big Thicket were considered to be poor people. George referred to them as just good ole country people, “Souls that worked hard for hardly a living,” he would say. Those days were tough for George and his family. Everybody felt the licks of The Great Depression. Each family lived and accepted their own way of life and few, if any, knew any other way of life even existed. The Jones family was no less fortunate than the majority of the rest of the folks that lived in The Big Thicket.

  George Washington Jones, George’s father, was a hard worker. He was a logger as well as held other jobs from time to time. He was a heavy drinker, but he provided well for his family. They always had a big garden and plenty of food on the table. Clara (Patterson) Jones, George’s mother, was a Christian lady. She was a very kindhearted and humble person who treated everybody the same. She loved people and was very much a loving mother to her eight children. Mr. and Mrs. Jones had two boys and six girls and were a close-knit family. The boys’ names were Herman and George Glenn. The girls’ names were Ethel, Helen, Lois and Joyce (twins), Ruth and Doris (also twins). Ethel died at the early age of 8 years old from Malaria fever. She was the apple of Mr. Jones’ eye, and he loved her so very much. Ethel’s death is blamed for Mr. Jones’ heavy drinking because he couldn’t handle losing his little girl. He’d drink to help wash away the pain, but it never weakened or even faded his love or memory of Ethel. Helen spoke highly of her dad, and she talked about how hard he worked to provide a living for his family. She recalled his love for music. She said he didn’t go to church, but he’d always go to the old “brush arbors”. Sitting under the open-sided shelter he loved to listen to the gospel music and singings.

  Most of the people that lived in The Big Thicket were good people. They produced a way of life that was somewhat different from the folks that didn’t live there. They maintained their own set of rules, morals, and values to live by. Their standards were important to them, and most all Big Thicket families honored these community values. George held to those principles and never let go.

  On September 12, 1931, Clara Jones gave birth to a twelve-pound baby boy and named him George Glenn Jones. She adored that baby, and she became as fond of little George as Mr. Jones had become of Ethel. Mr. and Mrs. Jones were experiencing marital problems when George Glenn was born caused by the heavy drinking of Mr. Jones. Mrs. Jones simply turned her attention to the newborn child, and her interest in the baby became her
primary focus. Mr. Jones had begun to get a little more rowdy when he was drinking, and Mrs. Jones was getting a little more fed up with him. Clara gave all she could give to Mr. Jones, but George Glenn began stealing her heart. George was about six years old when he and his siblings were all beginning to sing around the house, especially George and Doris. Although all the kids were musically talented, it was George who loved music the most and began as a young child to demonstrate his talents.

  I could sit for hours and listen to the stories George would tell about his life back in those days.

  He’d say things like, “I can still smell that scent of mama cooking breakfast, country ham, red eye gravy, eggs, and biscuits. There’s just nothing that smells that good today.”

  I recall him saying, “I miss the sound of the wind whistling through those tall pines.”

  These were hard times, but there were also good times.

  “You know those people back then were happy people,” he’d say, “they lived hard, but they accepted it. It wasn’t a big deal to them; they got by just like everybody else.”

  It was obvious that George held a special place in his heart for those people from his childhood. If time could roll life back to the old days, he probably wouldn’t want to live that kind of life again, but money couldn’t buy those precious memories of when he had a living mom and dad, five sisters, and a brother. They’re all gone now except one sister, Helen. Those days are a part of him that molded him into the man he became.

  George finally got his first guitar and started learning how to play it. With the help of a little old lady that went to church with him, he learned to play it in a very short time. Her name was Annie Stephens, and she was the wife of Brother Burl Stephens, who was the pastor of a church that George had been going to in Kountze, Texas. The Jones family had been attending this little non-denominational church for quite a while, and George would get up and sing at the services. Bro. Burl and Annie held revivals and gospel meetings all over Beaumont on Saturdays, and George would go with them and sing to the crowds. People thought he was the most amazing little fellow they’d ever seen. People loved him and told others about him, and folks would come from all over the county to hear him sing. He was young and shy, but the shyness seemed to melt away little by little as he began to realize that people really liked his singing. There was nothing George liked any more than playing and singing, and the larger the crowds he drew the happier he became.