VOA标准英语2013--Music Fans Mourn Country Legend George Jones

 

Music Fans Mourn Country Legend George Jones

In 1955, Jones recorded “Why Baby Why,” his first hit for Starday Records. Born in Saratoga, Texas, he began performing in local clubs at age 10. In the late 1940s, he worked as a disc jockey at various radio stations in his home state, before entering the U.S. Marine¹ Corps² in 1950. Three years later, Jones completed his military service and returned to the Texas nightclub circuit. He was discovered by Starday’s founder³, “Pappy” Dailey, who convinced Jones to record for his label. 

Jones says his first studio session proved a great learning experience.

“The first time I went in to do my first recording⁴ session, for about two hours I sang like Roy Acuff, Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams," he said. "Finally, the producer came in the studio -- after he figured I’d had enough fun -- and he wanted to know if I could sing like George Jones. So I said, ‘Oh, I didn't know that. I thought I was supposed to sing like those people.’ They were selling records. I didn’t know the difference, you know.”

After leaving Starday Records in 1957, Jones worked with several other labels. In 1969, he joined Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, and the same year, married singer Tammy Wynette. Their union lasted only six years, but during that time, they collaborated⁵ on numerous duets, including the Number One hits “We’re Gonna Hold On,” “Near You” and “Golden Ring.”

Through much of his life, George Jones battled an addiction⁶ to alcohol that nearly ruined his professional career. He earned the nickname “No Show Jones” for missing numerous concert dates. At one point, lawsuits⁷ against him by show promoters seeking compensation forced Jones to declare bankruptcy⁸. He credited his fourth wife Nancy, whom he married in 1983, for helping⁹ him overcome his dependency to alcohol and giving his life new meaning.

Countless¹⁰ singers, including Garth Brooks¹¹, George Strait, Alan Jackson and Randy Travis name George Jones as a major influence. 

Bill Ivey, former director of the Country Music Foundation, once described the role Jones played in Country music. 

“He has a unique vocal¹² style that really is so special that it hasn’t been much imitated," he said. "I think people in contemporary Country music, who look back on George’s early work for inspiration, don’t try to sound like him. They, I think, try to write like him and try to get that spirit into their interpretation¹³. What George Jones has is a constant presence of the real energy of Country music and I think it’s something that’s much admired.”

At age 62, Jones was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The surprise announcement was made during the 1992 Country Music Association Awards telecast. The overwhelmed performer described his feelings in this acceptance speech.

“You know, I’ve won a lot of awards - I’m not bragging¹⁴ - a lot of awards over the period of years and each and every one of them was fantastic," he said. "They made you feel great. They kept you going and made you try harder and work harder, but this has got to be the greatest one in the world. Country music has been awful good to me throughout a whole bunch of years, and I’ll tell you what, I’d like to just thank all the fans in the whole, wide world.”

New pop-oriented trends have broadened Country music's boundaries in recent years, but never lessened¹⁵ the popularity of George Jones’ traditional sound. Several of his peers, including Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, Clint Black, Travis Tritt and Pam Tillis, fulfilled a life-long dream, when they collaborated with Jones on the Grammy Award-winning single, “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair.”

On many occasions, George Jones said that he played, sang and wrote Country songs out of his deep love for the music. Equally gratifying was his relationship with his fans. 

Jones once revealed, “It’s not really that important to me, as far as glory, popularity and those things. I just feel like I’m making people happy. And they sure make me happy when I walk out on that stage. That’s all that’s really important to me.”

In the early 1990s, Country music fans and musicians named Jones’ recording of “He Stopped Loving Her Today” as the greatest song of all time. The single topped the chart in 1980 and earned Jones a Grammy and two Country Music Association awards. His other industry honors included induction¹⁶ into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992. Three years later, he teamed with his former wife Tammy Wynette to record the chart-topping album, “One.” 

Jones autobiography¹⁷, “I Lived To Tell It All,” was published in 1996, and an album of the same name followed. MCA Records dropped him from its roster¹⁸ in 1998 and he later formed his own label, Bandit Records.

In 1999, George Jones suffered life-threatening injuries when he lost control of his car and slammed into a bridge near his home. After making a full recovery, he returned to recording and touring. His last solo album, “Hits I Missed and One I Didn’t,” contains songs made famous by other artists, plus a newly recorded version of his signature tune¹⁹, “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” 

Jones’ many accolades²⁰ included a 2008 Kennedy Center Honor and a 2012 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

In late 2012, he kicked off his farewell tour, scheduled to conclude on November 22 in Nashville. Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers and many other Country stars were set to perform at the show.

During the past year, Jones had been hospitalized several times, most recently on April 18 with fever and irregular blood pressure.

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

5 collaborated   

合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
• We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。

6 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

7 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

8 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

11 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

13 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

14 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

15 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。

16 induction   

n.感应，感应现象

参考例句：

• His induction as a teacher was a turning point in his life.他就任教师工作是他一生的转折点。
• The magnetic signals are sensed by induction coils.磁信号由感应线圈所检测。

17 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

18 roster   

n.值勤表，花名册

参考例句：

• The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
• The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。

19 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

20 accolades   

n.（连结几行谱表的）连谱号( accolade的名词复数 )；嘉奖；（窗、门上方的）桃尖拱形线脚；册封爵士的仪式（用剑面在肩上轻拍一下）

参考例句：

• Unlike other accolades for literature which tend to value style or experimentation. 有别于其他偏重风格活实验性的文学奖项。 来自互联网
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网