For much of his career, George Jones carried a nickname he could never quite shake: “No Show Jones.” So there was a bittersweet kind of humor in what happened to his final concert. It was booked, it was sold out, and the biggest names in country music were lined up to join him. George Jones did not make it. But he had seen it coming, and he left his wife with one last request.
The Grand Tour
In 2012, George Jones was already in poor health. He had been hospitalized twice that year. Even so, in August 2012 he announced a farewell tour, named after one of his signature hits, “The Grand Tour.” It would run about 60 dates through 2012 and 2013, ending in Nashville on November 22, 2013, at the Bridgestone Arena.
His wife, Nancy, tried to talk him out of it. He would not listen. He wanted to give something back to the fans who had stood by him for more than half a century. The Nashville finale sold out, with stars like Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Randy Travis, Kenny Rogers, Charlie Daniels and The Oak Ridge Boys set to appear.
April 6, 2013
On April 6, 2013, George Jones played the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Tennessee, the 50th show of the farewell tour. According to one review, he needed help getting onstage, and a band member told the crowd he had just been through two back surgeries. His voice was weaker than fans remembered. He sang anyway.
After the concert, he told Nancy he had just done his last show. That night happened to fall 15 years to the day after the death of Tammy Wynette, his former wife and longtime duet partner.
A Promise About the Last Show
Nancy Jones later revealed that George had been agreeing to everything in those final months, which puzzled her. When she asked him why, he admitted he did not believe he would be around for the Nashville finale. Then he made a request about that last concert:
“Promise me you’ll make a tribute show out of it, and I’ll see it from heaven.”
On April 18, 2013, George Jones was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center with a fever and irregular blood pressure. After days in intensive care, he died on April 26, 2013, at the age of 81. At his funeral at the Grand Ole Opry House on May 2, former First Lady Laura Bush was among those who spoke, and Alan Jackson sang “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”
Why They Called Him “No Show Jones”
During his hardest-drinking years, George Jones was notorious for missing concerts, sometimes without warning. Promoters and fans learned to hold their breath until he actually walked onstage. The nickname “No Show Jones” stuck for the rest of his life, and in later years he joked about it himself.
Nancy Jones is widely credited with helping him turn his life around. So when she set out to keep her promise, the tribute was given a name that fit him perfectly: “Playin’ Possum: The Final No Show.” Possum was his other famous nickname.
The Final No Show
On November 22, 2013, the same night the farewell concert had been scheduled, more than 100 artists gathered at the Bridgestone Arena for a tribute that lasted nearly four hours. Nancy Jones sat in the front row. Former members of his band, the Jones Boys, played behind the singers.
Host Keith Bilbrey set the tone early:
“During the funeral, we mourned George Jones. Tonight, we celebrate him.”
And they did. Big & Rich opened the show riding John Deere lawn mowers, a nod to the famous time George drove a riding mower to the liquor store after his keys were taken away. Brad Paisley sang “The Corvette Song” and joked that George was surely looking down wondering where all the money from the show was going. George Strait sang “The Grand Tour” and quipped that he must have been named after George. Vince Gill sang “Bartender’s Blues” wearing a shirt that read “Sweet Pea,” the name George always called him. Even the heavy metal band Megadeth turned up to honor a man they considered a fellow rebel.
He Stopped Loving Her Today
The night belonged to the song that defined George Jones. Alan Jackson closed the show with “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” the same song he had sung at the funeral months earlier. This time, he called Nancy Jones to the stage. She stood beside him as he invited the entire arena to sing the chorus, and thousands of voices filled the building.
When it was over, Alan Jackson walked off with his arm around Nancy. On the way, he stopped beside an empty rocking chair on the stage and gave it a gentle push, leaving it rocking as the lights went down. For fans who remembered George’s hit “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair,” it was a perfect goodbye.
George Jones finally missed one show. But it seems he planned for that one, too.
Were you one of the lucky fans who saw George Jones on his farewell tour?