Some country songs come from heartbreak. Some come from a late night at a bar. “(We’re Not) The Jet Set” came, at least in part, from a Rand McNally road atlas.
In 1973, songwriter Bobby Braddock was working on a playful duet for George Jones and Tammy Wynette, then the most famous married couple in country music. The idea was simple and a little cheeky. While glamorous people jetted around the world, this couple was happy in an old Chevrolet. It was a song that poked fun at the high life and sided with ordinary folks.
The search for the perfect small town
Braddock had a rhyme scheme built around the Riviera and Missouri, and he needed one more place name to make it land. It could not be just any town. As he later told Rolling Stone, he was after a particular feel:
“I wanted a rustic, small-time sound.”
So he grabbed a Rand McNally atlas. He skipped past the maps to the alphabetical list of cities in the back, went to the Missouri section and started reading down the names. When he reached Festus, he stopped. He loved the way it sounded, and that little town south of St. Louis earned itself a permanent spot in country music history.
It is a perfect example of how Bobby Braddock worked. He had a gift for wordplay and for the small detail that makes a listener smile. That same gift gave Tammy Wynette “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” which he wrote with Curly Putman, and years later it gave George Jones “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”
Recorded at a fragile moment
George Jones and Tammy Wynette recorded “(We’re Not) The Jet Set” in 1973 with producer Billy Sherrill. It appeared on their album We’re Gonna Hold On, released in November 1973, and Epic issued it as a single on January 21, 1974.
The timing tells its own story. On August 1, 1973, Tammy Wynette had filed for divorce, worn down by George Jones’s drinking. The two reconciled, and their next single, “We’re Gonna Hold On,” became their first No. 1 duet. George told Music City News at the time that he was tired of the pain he was causing and that he and Tammy loved each other very much.
“(We’re Not) The Jet Set” followed right behind it. On record, George and Tammy sounded like a couple content with a modest life and each other. Fans who knew the headlines could hear it as a sweet answer to the gossip. The record reached No. 15 on the Billboard country chart and No. 16 in Canada, a modest hit rather than a smash.
The marriage behind the music
The happy picture did not last. In December 1974, George Jones and Tammy Wynette separated for good, and their divorce was finalized in March 1975.
Strangely, the music kept going. Producer Billy Sherrill kept them recording together, and some of their biggest duets came after the divorce. “Golden Ring,” written by Bobby Braddock with Rafe Van Hoy, told the story of a wedding ring that follows a couple from a pawnshop to a broken marriage. It went to No. 1 in 1976. “Near You” followed it to the top.
George and Tammy reunited on record again in 1980 with “Two Story House,” and once more in 1995 with their final album together, One.
Why the song still makes people smile
“(We’re Not) The Jet Set” was never their biggest hit. But it holds a special place for many fans because it captures George and Tammy at their most playful. You can hear the fun in it, the easy back and forth between two of the greatest voices country music ever had.
And somewhere in Missouri, the people of Festus can say their town made it into a George Jones and Tammy Wynette song, all because a songwriter liked the way the name sounded.
Do you remember hearing “(We’re Not) The Jet Set” on the radio back in 1974? Tell us which George and Tammy duet is your favorite.