32 Greatest Hits

George Jones' early career was tied directly to record producer Pappy Daily, who discovered Jones and signed him to his local Texas label, Starday Records, in 1953, releasing Jones' first single in 1954. When Starday was absorbed into Mercury Records, Daily continued to produce Jones' releases for that label, and when Daily became a staff producer for United Artists Records in 1962, Jones followed him to that label. By the time he signed with Musicor in 1965, again under the direction of Daily, Jones was recording constantly, up to 300 some sides for Musicor, in every style imaginable, searching for a signature sound, trying on rockabilly, imitating Hank Williams, recording under pseudonyms like Thumper Jones or Hank Smith, and even tracking cover versions of country hits for mail-order record companies. This interesting pairing collects 22 of Jones' early Starday sides on one disc, with ten more sides from his Musicor stay on a second disc, capturing Jones' immense talent and restless spirit before he settled into his later role as a country icon. This package shows arguably the greatest pure voice in country music history becoming just that: becoming George Jones. ~ Steve Leggett