| Working Drafts and Notes For: [The New] Rolling Stone Album Guide |
 |
George Jones
 | Cup of Loneliness: The Classic Mercury Years (1955-59; Mercury, 1994) |
 | The Best of George Jones (The Millennium Collection) (1955-62; Mercury, 2000) |
| Hank, Bob & Me (1962; Fuel 2000, 2003) |
| The Best of George Jones (1956-67; Rhino, 1991) |
| Sings the Great Songs of Leon Payne (1971; Hollywood, 1987) |
| A Picture of Me/Nothing Ever Hurt Me (1972-73; Koch, 1998) |
| Memories of Us/The Battle (1975-76; Koch, 1999) |
| All-Time Greatest Hits (Epic, 1977) |
| My Very Special Guests (Epic, 1979) |
| I Am What I Am (1980; Epic/Legacy, 2000) |
| Anniversary: Ten Years of Hits (Epic, 1982) |
| Love Songs (1972-86; Epic/Legacy, 2003) |
| First Time Live (Epic, 1987 |
| Super Hits (Epic, 1987) |
| The Spirit of Country: The Essential George Jones (1955-88; Epic/Legacy, 1994) |
| 16 Biggest Hits (1972-88; Epic/Legacy, 1999) |
| One Woman Man (Epic, 1989) |
| Walls Can Fall (MCA, 1992) |
| High-Tech Redneck (MCA, 1993) |
| Super Hits Vol. 2 (Epic, 1993) |
| It Don't Get Any Better Than This (MCA, 1998) |
| The Best of George Jones Vol. 2: The '90s (The Millennium Collection) (1991-98; Mercury Nashville, 2002) |
| Cold Hard Truth (Asylum, 1999) |
| Live With the Possum (Asylum, 1999) |
| The Rock: Stone Cold Country 2001 (BNA/Bandit, 2001) |
| The Gospel Collection (BNA/Bandit, 2003) |
| George Jones & Melba Montgomery: | |
| Vintage Collections (1963-64; Capitol, 1995) |
| George Jones & Tammy Wynette: | |
| Greatest Hits (1972-77; Epic, 1989) |
| Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1972-80; Epic, 1992) |
| 16 Biggest Hits (1971-80; Epic/Legacy, 1999) |
| George & Tammy Super Hits (1995) |
| One (MCA, 1995) |
Nashville neotraditionalism had to be invented because George Jones was still making records that were the very essence of country tradition, and no one else wanted the comparison. Take Alan Jackson, for example: terrific singer, fine writer, expert, hard-working, prolific, yet since Jackson started releasing albums in 1990 Jones has cut more and better and made it look almost effortless. Of course, a big part of this is, as by now everyone knows, that George Jones is the greatest pure singer in country music -- while his East Texas drawl identifies him both regionally and culturally, it doesn't cloud his remarkably clear and pliant voice, nor does it limit his astonishing vocal technique. But just as important is how profoundly Jones has bound himself to country music tradition, which for him is the religion that saved his life.
Jones' life is by now an open book, but virtually none of it appears in his music. As a child, Jones sang to pacify his alcoholic father. As a teenager, Jones sang on street corners and in honky tonks to escape his home. Jones sang country music because country was what he grew up with and all that he knew. He tried odd jobs, did a hitch in the Marines, had a couple of messed up marriages, but the only thing he was ever any good at was singing, and singing was the only thing that kept him going. He channeled Roy Acuff and Hank Williams and countless others, but judging from the numerous covers in his early Mercury recordings, the only singer he had any trouble subsuming was Lefty Frizzell. And within a few years his own voice became such an integral part of that tradition that nothing -- not even eighteen years of Billy Sherrill -- could diminish Jones. But perhaps the most curious thing about Jones is that his music never seems connected to his own life. It's not that he can't convey emotion but that you're never really convinced that the emotion he conveys is his own. The dissociation between his art and his life has been much commented on, leading to suggestions that he has an "inert mind" (Nick Tosches) or that he is a "blank slate" (Robert Christgau). But this seems to be imposing false expectations on what Jones does -- we expect our artists to be auteurs, but Jones is just a supremely gifted performer, and while he can imbue the songs he sings with the weight of the tradition he has internalized, as opposed to the experiences of the life he has estranged.
For the first 35 years of his career, Jones' records were produced by two men: Pappy Daily (1955-71) and Billy Sherrill (1972-89). Daily was co-owner of Starday Records, but took over managing as well as producing Jones, and stayed with him through a series of record companies: Mercury, United Artists, Musicor. Jones' first hit, "Why Baby Why," was pure honky tonk. His first #1 hit was J.P. Richardson's moonshiner novelty "White Lightning," with a panoply of vocal effects. But he also cut songs that became classics, like "The Window Up Above," and "Tender Years," and "She Thinks I Still Care." Four good comps cover this period with a lot of overlap on the hits: by far the most extensive is the 51-cut Cup of Loneliness, which gives by far the fullest picture of Jones the hardcore honky-tonker. Rhino's The Best of George Jones (1955-1967) adds a few later tracks to the Mercury hits, most of which are duplicated on the first disc in Epic/Legacy's 2-CD The Spirit of Country.
Aside from the biggest hits, very little of the massive amount of material that Jones and Daily recorded for United Artists (1962-66) and Musicor (1965-71) is in print. Hank, Bob & Me restores parts of albums of Hank Williams and Bob Wills songs from 1962. The Vintage Collections duets with Melba Montgomery are long on bluegrass and notable for the freak hit, "Let's Invite Them Over," about spouse-swapping, and the magnificent "We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds." Jones and Daily recorded something in excess of 300 cuts for Musicor, including 23 chart singles, so it's surprising that the only one seen recently is the fine set of Leon Payne songs.
Jones married Tammy Wynette in 1968. She had just released "Stand By Your Man," making her one of the biggest new stars in Nashville, and he was already a legend, so their marriage kicked off the King and Queen of Nashville hype. More concretely, marriage steered Jones to Wynette's label (Epic) and producer (Billy Sherrill), but it was late-1971 before the first George & Tammy duet came out, and they cut another dozen singles after that, hitting #1 three times -- twice after the inevitable d-i-v-o-r-c-e. The songs, which have been collected in short, overlapping comps, are a strange mix of pop artifacts -- hopeful, cynical, devout, dejected, and/or funny ("God's Gonna Get'cha"). But one thing that can't be doubted is their utter professionalism, and both can switch on absolute devotion to even the most irrelevant of material. (This continues without a hitch in their 1995 reunion, One.)
But the duets were just a sideshow: Jones recorded at least an album a year from 1972-89, a vast amount of material, most now out of print (most regrettably 1976's Alone Again). Billy Sherrill had a reputation as a guy who never heard a song without thinking that it could use some strings, and anyone with a taste for Jones' honky tonk roots is likely to view most of the music that Sherrill produced as glop. But for Jones the music was just the launch pad for his singing. While most voices thicken with age, Jones' voice was becoming, if anything, lighter and more pliable, and the ballads that Sherrill preferred often worked best to flatter Jones' singing. Sometimes the pair joined spectacularly, as on "He Stopped Loving Her Today," where the swelling of the strings lifts Jones into the stratosphere. The ballads dominate the comps from the period, especially 16 Biggest Hits and Love Songs, both full of treasures. The Spirit of Country is the broadest selection currently available, the 15 early hits followed by 29 Epic cuts, including 5 Wynette duets and a couple of curveballs (like inviting Ray Charles to join in on "We Didn't See a Thing"). All-Time Greatest Hits were interesting 1977 remakes of early hits, which also surface in the short Super Hits volumes. Of Jones' surviving albums, the early twofers on Koch are consistently good; 1980's I Am What I Am is perhaps his peak, with exceptionally strong material throughout; and One Woman Man closed out the series on a high note.
During the late '80s Jones finally started to get his oft wrecked life together. He married again, to Nancy Sepulveda, and this time it stuck. In 1991 he moved to MCA, and his new producers pointed him back toward his old country roots. They also helped him pick better songs -- Jones had long since stopped writing his own, but Nashville was full of songwriters who dreamt of servicing him. Walls Can Fall was perhaps the best of the '90s albums, with ballads like the title cut and "She Drives Me to Drink," the fast-paced "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair," and the definitive "Wrong's What I Do Best." Others like It Don't Get Any Better Than This, Cold Hard Truth are nearly as good, and The Rock isn't far behind, but Jones' reunion with Billy Sherrill on The Gospel Collection is uninspired profit-taking. Perhaps the most surprising thing of all is how consistent Jones has been over a recording career that now approaches fifty years.
Notes
Other records:
| The Best of George Jones, Vol. 1: Hardcore Honky Tonk (1955-59; Mercury, 1991) |
| George Jones Sings the Hits of His Country Cousins (UA, 1962) | |
| New Favorites of George Jones (UA, 1962) | |
| Homecoming in Heaven (1962; Razor & Tie, 1995) |
| My Favorites of Hank Williams (1962, Razor & Tie) | |
| George Jones Sings Bob Wills (1962; Razor & Tie, 1994) |
| I Wish Tonight Would Never End (UA, 1963) | |
| George Jones Sings Like the Dickens (UA, 1964) | |
| George Jones Sings More New Favorites (UA, 1964) | |
| I Get Lonely in a Hurry (UA, 1964) | |
| From the Heart (UA, 1965) | |
| The Race Is On (1965; Razor & Tie) | |
| Trouble in Mind (UA, 1965) | |
| King of Broken Hearts (UA, 1965) | |
| She Thinks I Still Care: The George Jones Collection (1962-66; Razor & Tie, 1997) | |
| George Jones & Melba Montgomery (Deluxe, 1968) | |
| The Best of Sacred Music (Hollywood, 1971) | |
| George Jones (Epic, 1972) | |
| A Picture of Me (Without You) (Epic, 1973) |
| Nothing Ever Hurt Me (Half as Bad as Losing You) (Epic, 1973) |
| George Jones in a Gospel Way (Epic, 1974) | |
| The Grand Tour (Epic, 1974) | |
| Memories of Us (Epic, 1975) |
| The Battle (Epic, 1976) |
| Alone Again (Epic, 1976) |
| I Wanta Sing (Epic, 1977; Columbia) | |
| Bartender's Blues (Epic, 1978) | |
| Encore (Epic, 1981) | |
| Still the Same Ole Me (Epic, 1981) | |
| Shine On (Epic, 1983) | |
| Jones Country (Epic, 1983) | |
| Ladies Choice (Epic, 1984) | |
| You've Still Got a Place in My Heart (Epic, 1984) | |
| By Request (Epic, 1984) | |
| Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes? (Epic, 1985) | |
| First Time Live (Epic, 1985) | |
| Wine Colored Roses (Epic, 1986) | |
| Too Wild Too Long (Epic, 1987) | |
| You Oughta Be Here With Me (Epic, 1990) | |
| Hallelujah Weekend (Epic, 1990; DCC) | |
| Friends in High Places (Epic, 1991) | |
| Walking the Line (Merle, Willie & George) (Epic) | |
| And Along Came Jones (MCA, 1991) | |
| Don't Stop the Music (Ace, 1993) | |
| The Bradley Barn Sessions (MCA, 1994) | |
| I Lived to Tell It All (MCA, 1996) | |
| The George Jones Collection (MCA, 1999) | |
| Gospel Collection (BNA/Bandit, 2003) | |
| 14 Greats by George Jones (Hollywood) | |
| 20 Greatest Hits (Deluxe) | |
| 24 Gospel Greats (Teevee) | |
| 24 Greatest Hits (Teevee) | |
| At His Best (King) | |
| Best of the Best (Federal) | |
| Best of the Best: George Jones Sings [ . . . ] (Federal) | |
| Blue Side of Lonesome (King) | |
| Classic George (Universal) | |
| Country Legends (Disky) | |
| Country Music Hall of Famer (Legacy) | |
| Country Stars & Stripes (Direct Source) | |
| Definitive Country Collection (Epic import) | |
| Friends in High Places / She [ . . . ] (Import) | |
| George Jones (St. Clair) | |
| George Jones' Golden Hits (Hollywood) | |
| Greatest Hits (EMI-Capitol) | |
| Greatest Country Hits (Curb) | |
| Greatest Hits (Madacy) | |
| Hall of Fame, Inducted 1992 (King) | |
| Heartaches & Hangovers (Columbia River) | |
| Heartaches & Hangovers (Maste) | |
| Hits (Mercury Nashville) | |
| Honky Tonkin' (Universal) | |
| I Am a One Woman Man (Hollywood) | |
| Life Turned Her That Way (Hollywood) | |
| Lovin' Time (King) | |
| My Mom & Santa (Hollywood) | |
| Nothin' Like George Jones (Sony) | |
| She Still Thinks I Care (CEMA) | |
| Ways of the World (Starburst) | |
| Wishing & Dreaming With George Jones (King) | |
| George Jones & Gene Pitney: | |
| George Jones & Gene Pitney (Bear Family) | |
| George Jones & Melba Montgomery: | |
| George Jones & Melba Montgomery (Hollywood, 1994) | |
| Bluegrass Hootenanny (Longhorn, 2000) | |
| George Jones & Merle Haggard: | |
| Taste of Yesterday's Wine (1982; Epic/Legacy) | |
| George Jones & Tammy Wynette: | |
| We Go Together (Epic, 1971) | |
| Me and the First Lady (Epic, 1972) | |
| We Love to Sing About Jesus (Epic, 1972) | |
| We're Gonna Hold On (Epic, 1973) | |
| Let's Build a World Together (Epic, 1973) | |
| George & Tammy & Tina (Epic, 1975) | |
| Encore (Epic, 1981) | |
| Golden Ring (Razor & Tie, 1997) | |
| Together Again: Encore Collection (BMG, 1999) | |
| Best of the Best (Federal) | |
| It Sure Was Good (Sony) | |
| President & the First Lady (Teevee) | |
| George Jones & Johnny Paycheck: | |
| Double Trouble (Epic, 1980) |
| Merle Haggard and George Jones: | |
| Taste of Yesterday's Wine (Legacy, 1992) | |
Note: The above omits a bunch of original albums: the Dixie EPs, Starday LPs, and Mercury LPs. The Musicor LPs are mostly omitted as well, except for a few that have subsequently been reissued (e.g., by Hollywood). The United Artists LPs have been listed, since most of them were reissued by Razor & Tie (although they are out of print now).
Links:
- Old Version
- GeorgeJones.Com: good discography, list of chart singles, gold/platinum albums.
| Debut | Pk | Wk | Title | No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starday | ||||
| 54-03-06 | You're In My Heart / No Money In The Deal | 130 | ||
| 54-05-29 | Wrong About You / Play It Cool Man | 146 | ||
| 54-07-16 | Let Him Know / Let Me Catch My Breath | 160 | ||
| 54-09-25 | Let Him Know / You All Goodnight | 162 | ||
| 54-11-06 | Heartbroken Me / Tell Her | 165 | ||
| 55-05-14 | Hold Everything / What's Wrong With Me? | 188 | ||
| 55-10-29 | 4 | 18 | Why Baby Why / Seasons Of My Heart | 202 |
| 56-01-28 | 7 | 7 | What Am I Worth / Still Hurtin | 216 |
| 56-04-07 | I'm Ragged But I'm Right / Your Heart | 234 | ||
| 56-05-05 | Rock It / How Come It (Thumper Jones) | 240 | ||
| 56-07-14 | 7 | 8 | You Gotta Be My Baby / It's OK | 247 |
| 56-08-11 | Boat Of Life / Taggin' Along | 291 | ||
| 56-10-20 | 3 | 11 | Just One More / | |
| 5 | Gonna Come Get You | 264 | ||
| 62-06-16 | Boat Of Life / Where Will I Shelter My Sheep | 291 | ||
| New Baby For Christmas / Maybe Next Christmas | ||||
| Mercury | ||||
| 57-03-09 | 10 | 2 | Don't Stop The Music / Uh, Uh, No | 71029 |
| 57-12-15 | Just One More / Gonna Come And Get You | 71049 | ||
| 57-06-10 | 13 | 6 | Too Much Water / All I Want To Do | 71096 |
| 57-07-01 | Flame In My Heart / No, No, Never | 71141 | ||
| 57-08-26 | Tall, Tall Trees / Hearts In My Dream | 71176 | ||
| 57-11-11 | Cup O Loneliness / Take The Devil Out Of Me | 71224 | ||
| 58-04-14 | 7 | 10 | Color of the Blues / Eskimo Pie | 71257 |
| 58-06-30 | 6 | 16 | Treasure Of Love / | |
| 29 | 1 | If I Don't Love You | 71373 | |
| 59-03-09 | 1 | 22 | White Lightning / Long Time To Forget | 71406 |
| 59-07-20 | Who Shot Sam / Into My Arms Again | 71464 | ||
| 59-10-05 | My Lord Has Called Me / If You Want to Wear a Crown | 71506 | ||
| 59-11-23 | 15 | 12 | Money To Burn | 71514 |
| 60-04-04 | 16 | 12 | Accidently On Purpose / | |
| 30 | 1 | Sparkling Brown Eyes | 71583 | |
| 60-05-02 | Have Mercy On Me / If You Believe | 71615 | ||
| 60-08-22 | 25 | 2 | Out Of Control / Just Little Boy Blue | 71641 |
| 60-11-07 | 2 | 34 | The Window Up Above / Candy Hearts | 71700 |
| 61-05-29 | 16 | 2 | Family Bible / Your Old Standby | 71721 |
| 61-06-19 | 1 | 32 | Tender Years / Battle Of Love | 71804 |
| 62-02-24 | 5 | 12 | Aching, Breaking Heart / When Your Heart Hurts No More | 71910 |
| 62-08-25 | 28 | 1 | You're Still On My Mind / Cold, Cold Heart | 72010 |
| 63-02-09 | I Love You Because / Revenoor Man | 72087 | ||
| 64-03-28 | 39 | 3 | The Last Town I Painted / Tarnished Angel | 72233 |
| 64-07-11 | Life To Go / Oh Lonesome Me | 72293 | ||
| 64-11-14 | I Wouldn't Know About That / You Better Treat Your Man Right | 72362 | ||
| Mercury: Duets With Margie Singleton | ||||
| 61-09-18 | 15 | 3 | Did I Ever Tell You | |
| 62-06-16 | 11 | 10 | Waltz of the Angel | 71856 |
| 62-09-29 | I Want To Be Where You're Gonna Be / When Two Worlds Collide | 72034 | ||
| United Artists | ||||
| 62-04-14 | 1 | 23 | She Thinks I Still Care | |
| 62-04-28 | 17 | 5 | Sometimes You Just Can't Win | 424 |
| 62-04-15 | Beacon In The Night / He Made Me Free | 442 | ||
| 62-07-21 | 13 | 11 | Open Pit Mine / Geronimo | 462 |
| 62-10-06 | 3 | 18 | Girl I Used To Know | |
| 62-10-13 | 13 | 9 | Big Fool Of The Year | 500 |
| 63-02-09 | 7 | 18 | Not What I Had In Mind / | |
| 63-04-06 | 9 | 1 | I Saw Me | 528 |
| 62-12-08 | Lonely Christmas Call / My Mom and Santa Clause | 530 | ||
| 63-07-13 | 5 | 22 | You Comb Her Hair / Ain't It Funny What a Fool Will Do | 578 |
| 64-02-01 | 5 | 18 | Your Heart Turned Left (And I Was on the Right) | |
| 64-02-08 | 15 | 9 | My Tears Are Over Due | 683 |
| 64-06-06 | 31 | 7 | Something I Dreamed | |
| 64-06-20 | 10 | 16 | Where Does a Little Tear Come From | 724 |
| 64-09-26 | 3 | 28 | The Race Is On / She's Lonesome Again | 751 |
| 65-01-30 | 15 | 15 | Least Of All / Brown to Blue | 804 |
| 65-06-05 | 14 | 12 | Wrong Number / The Old, Old House | 858 |
| 65-10-09 | 40 | 3 | What's Money / I Get Lonely in a Hurry | 901 |
| 66-03-12 | 46 | 3 | World's Worse Loser / I Can't Change | 965 |
| Overnight | ||||
| 66-07-02 | Best Guitar Picker / A Good Old Fashioned Cry | 5001 | ||
| 66-09-10 | Afraid / Now Tell Me | 5001 | ||
| United Artists: Duets With Melba Montgomery | ||||
| 63-05-04 | 3 | 28 | We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds | 575 |
| 63-11-30 | 20 | 5 | What's in Our Heart | |
| 63-12-07 | 17 | 7 | Let's Invite Them Over | 635 |
| 64-09-05 | 31 | 5 | Please Be My Love | 732 |
| 64-12-12 | 25 | 15 | Multiply the Heartaches | 784 |
| Musicor | ||||
| 65-03-13 | 9 | 21 | Things Have Gone To Pieces / Wearing My Heart Away | 1067 |
| 65-08-28 | 6 | 18 | Love Bug / I Can't Get Use to Being Lonely | 1098 |
| 65-11-06 | 8 | 18 | Take Me / Ship Of Love | 1117 |
| 66-03-12 | 6 | 17 | I'm a People / I Woke Up From Dreaming | 1143 |
| 66-02-19 | Take Me / Ship of Love | 1144 | ||
| 66-06-25 | 30 | 7 | Old Brush Arbors / Flowers for Mama | 1174 |
| 66-07-30 | 5 | 16 | Four-O-Thirty Three / Don't Think I Don't | 1181 |
| 67-01-21 | 1 | 22 | Walk Through This World With Me / Developing My Pictures | 1226 |
| 67-05-20 | 5 | 17 | I Can't Get There From Here / Poor Man's Riches | 1243 |
| 67-07-18 | Take the World but Give Me Jesus / Cries | 1244 | ||
| 67-10-07 | 7 | 18 | If My Heart Had Windows / The Honky Tonk Downstairs | 1267 |
| 68-02-03 | 8 | 14 | Say It's Not You / The Poor Chinee | 1289 |
| 68-04-13 | 35 | 13 | Small Time Laboring Man / Well, It's Alright | 1297 |
| 68-07-06 | 3 | 13 | As Long As I Live / Your Angel Steps out of Heaven | 1298 |
| 68-11-23 | 2 | 17 | When the Grass Grows Over Me / Heartaches and Hangovers | 1333 |
| 68-11-23 | Lonely Christmas Call / My Mom and Santa Clause | 1339 | ||
| 69-03-29 | 2 | 18 | I'll Share My World With You / I'll See You While I Go | 1351 |
| 69-07-19 | 6 | 14 | If Not For You / When the Wife Runs Off | 1366 |
| 69-11-15 | 6 | 14 | She's Mine | |
| 69-11-22 | 72 | 13 | No Blues in Good News | 138 |
| 70-03-14 | 28 | 10 | Where Grass Won't Grow / Shoulder to Shoulder | 1392 |
| 70-05-06 | Goin Life's Way / Unclouded Day | 1404 | ||
| 70-07-04 | 13 | 14 | Tell Me My Lying Eyes Are Wrong / You've Become My Everything | 140 |
| 70-11-21 | 2 | 15 | A Good Year for the Roses / Let a Little Loving Come In | 1425 |
| 71-03-20 | 10 | 13 | Sometimes You Just Can't Win / Brothers of the Bottle | 1432 |
| 71-06-12 | 7 | 14 | Right Won't Touch a Hand / Someone Sweet to Love | 1440 |
| 71-10-02 | 13 | 12 | I'll Follow You (Up to Our Cloud) / Getting Over the Storm | 1446 |
| Musicor: Duets With Gene Pitney | ||||
| 65-04-24 | 16 | 10 | I've Got Five Dollars and It's Saturday Night | 1066 |
| 65-07-03 | 25 | 7 | Louisiana Man | 1097 |
| 65-11-20 | 50 | 2 | Big Job | 1115 |
| 66-06-04 | 47 | 3 | That's All It Took | 1165 |
| Musicor: Duets With Melba Montgomery | ||||
| 66-11-19 | 70 | 3 | Close Together (As You and Me) | 1204 |
| 67-09-09 | 24 | 10 | Party Pickin' | 1238 |
| Musicor: Duets With Brenda Carter | ||||
| 68-09-28 | 12 | 12 | Milwaukee, Here I Come / Great Big Spirit of Love | 1325 |
| RCA | ||||
| 72-02-12 | 30 | 8 | A Day in the Life of a Fool / Old, Old House | 0625 |
| 72-04-12 | I Made Leaving (Easy for You) / How Proud I Would Have Been | 0700 | ||
| 72-10-14 | 46 | 7 | Wrapped Around Her Finger / With Half a Heart | 0792 |
| 1972 | She's Mine / I Can Still See Him in Your Eyes | 0878 | ||
| 1972 | Tender Years / White Lightnin' | AMB | ||
| 1972 | Late Getting Home / For Better or for Worse | AMB | ||
| 1972 | I Can Love You Enough / Talk to Me | PB-10 | ||
| 1972 | Lonesome Heart | |||
| Epic | ||||
| 72-02-12 | 6 | 14 | We Can Make It / One of These Days | 10831 |
| 72-05-20 | 2 | 14 | Loving You Would Never Be Better / Try It You'll Like It | 10858 |
| 72-10-28 | 5 | 16 | A Picture of Me (Without You) / The Worth Lovin' You | 10917 |
| 73-03-03 | 6 | 14 | What My Woman Can't Do / My Loving Wife | 10959 |
| 73-06-23 | 7 | 13 | Nothing Ever Hurt Me (Half as Bad) / Wine You've Used Me Long Enough | 11006 |
| 73-11-24 | 3 | 16 | Once You've Had the Best / Mary Don't Go Around | 11053 |
| 74-06-08 | 1 | 17 | The Grand Tour / Our Private Life | 11122 |
| 74-10-26 | 1 | 13 | The Door / Wean Me | 50038 |
| 75-03-22 | 10 | 14 | These Days (I Barely Get By) / Baby There's Nothing Like You | 50088 |
| 75-07-26 | 21 | 11 | Memories of Us | 50127 |
| 75-11-01 | 92 | 4 | I Just Don't Give a Damn | |
| 76-02-07 | 16 | 12 | The Battle | 50187 |
| 76-05-22 | 37 | 9 | You Always Look Your Best (Here in My Arms) / Have You Seen My Chicken | 50227 |
| 76-09-04 | 3 | 16 | Her Name Is | 50271 |
| 77-05-21 | 34 | 8 | Old King Kong / It's a 10-33 (Let's Get Jesus on the Line) | 50385 |
| 77-08-13 | 24 | 10 | If I Could Put Them All Together (I'd Have You) / You've Got the Best of Me | 50423 |
| 78-01-07 | 6 | 14 | Bartender's Blues / Rest In Peace (With James Taylor) | 50495 |
| 78-07-01 | 11 | 13 | I'll Just Take It Out in Love / Leaving Love All Over the Place | 50564 |
| 79-06-30 | 22 | 11 | Someday My Day Will Come / We Oughta Be Ashamed | 50684 |
| 80-04-12 | 1 | 18 | He Stopped Loving Her Today / Hard Act to Follow | 50867 |
| 80-08-23 | 2 | 17 | I'm Not Ready Yet / Garage Sale Today | 50922 |
| 81-01-17 | 8 | 15 | If Drinking Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will) / Brother of the Blues | 50968 |
| 81-10-03 | 1 | 17 | Still Doin' Time / Good Ones and Bad Ones | 02526 |
| 82-02-06 | 5 | 19 | Same Ole Me | 02692 |
| 83-01-15 | 3 | 19 | Shine On | 03489 |
| 83-05-07 | 1 | 18 | I Always Get Lucky With You | 03883 |
| 83-09-10 | 2 | 22 | Tennessee Whiskey | 04082 |
| 87-04-07 | 3 | 19 | You Still Got a Place in My Heart | 04413 |
| 84-09-22 | 2 | 23 | She's My Rock | 04609 |
| 85-08-03 | 3 | 20 | Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes | 05439 |
| 85-11-23 | 3 | 22 | The One I Loved Back Then | 05698 |
| 87-04-19 | 9 | 21 | Somebody Wants Me Out of the Way | 05862 |
| 86-09-13 | 10 | 23 | Wine Colored Roses | 06296 |
| 87-01-17 | 8 | 23 | The Right Left Hand | 06593 |
| 87-05-16 | 26 | 18 | I Turned to You | 07107 |
| 87-12-19 | 26 | 14 | The Bird | 07655 |
| 88-03-26 | 52 | 10 | I'm a Survivor | 07748 |
| 1988 | Ya Ba Da Ba Do | 68743 | ||
| 88-06-04 | 63 | 6 | The Old Man No One Loves | 07913 |
| 88-12-17 | 5 | 20 | I'm a One Woman Man | 08509 |
| 1990 | Hell Stays Open All Night | 73305 | ||
| 1990 | Six Foot Deep, Six Foot Down | 73424 | ||
| Epic: Duets With Tammy Wynette | ||||
| 71-12-25 | 9 | 13 | Take Me | 10815 |
| 72-07-08 | 6 | 15 | The Ceremony | 10881 |
| 72-11-25 | 38 | 9 | Old Fashioned Singing | 10923 |
| 73-04-07 | 32 | 9 | Let's Build a World Together | 10963 |
| 73-09-01 | 1 | 17 | We're Gonna Hold On | 11031 |
| 74-02-09 | 15 | 13 | (No We're Not) The Jet Song | 11083 |
| 74-02-27 | 8 | 12 | We Loved It Anyway | 11151 |
| 75-05-17 | 25 | 13 | God's Gonna Get'Cha (For That) | 50099 |
| 76-06-05 | 1 | 15 | Golden Ring | 50235 |
| 76-12-11 | 1 | 16 | Near You | 50314 |
| 77-07-16 | 5 | 13 | Southern California | 50418 |
| 80-03-01 | 2 | 11 | Two Story House | 50849 |
| 80-09-06 | 19 | 11 | A Pair of Old Sneakers | 50930 |
| Duets With Johnny Paycheck: Epic | ||||
| 78-12-09 | 7 | 13 | Mabellene | 50647 |
| 79-05-26 | 14 | 11 | You Can Have Her | 50708 |
| 80-06-21 | 31 | 9 | When You're Ugly Like Us | 50891 |
| 80-12-13 | 18 | 12 | You Better Move On | 50949 |
| Epic: Duets With Merle Haggard | ||||
| 82-08-07 | 1 | 15 | Yesterday's Wine | 03072 |
| 82-12-04 | 28 | 10 | C.C. Water Back | 03405 |
| Epic: Duets With Ray Charles | ||||
| 83-12-17 | 6 | 18 | We Didn't See a Thing | 1042297 |
| Epic: Duets With Brenda Lee | ||||
| 84-12-22 | 15 | 16 | Hallelujah, I Love You So | 04723 |
| Epic: Duets With Lacy J. Dalton | ||||
| 85-04-27 | 19 | 18 | Size Seven Round (Made of Gold) | 1042297 |
| Warner Bros.: Duets With Randy Travis | ||||
| 1990 | A Few Ole Country Boys | 26310 | ||
| MCA | ||||
| 91-08-31 | 21 | 19 | You Couldn't Get the Picture | 541 |
| 92-01-11 | 57 | 13 | She Loved a Lot in Her Time | 54272 |
| 92-04-11 | 63 | 6 | Honky Tonk Myself to Death | 54370 |
| 92-10-17 | 21 | 20 | I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair | 54470 |
| 93-11-13 | 24 | 20 | High Tech Red Neck | 54749 |