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The Grand Tour
1 August 1974 11 Songs, 28 minutes ℗ 1974 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
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The Meaning Behind “The Grand Tour” by George Jones Hit a Bit Too Close to Home
by Jim Beviglia January 23, 2024, 6:47 am
Country music has always been associated with songs of sadness. It makes sense then that George Jones was such a legend of the genre,. Nobody has ever been able to transmit sadness across the airwaves quite like he did.
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Getting deep inside the tragedies and misfortunes of his songs might have been a little easier for Jones than most. He was often living through some circumstance in his own turbulent life that related almost directly to the lyrics. Case in point: “ The Grand Tour ,” a masterpiece of melancholy that features Jones hitting every nuance and twist in a brilliantly crafted piece of material. Let’s look back at how this country classic came to be and learn the meaning behind “The Grand Tour” by George Jones.
Getting Grand Again
George Jones dominated the ’60s in terms of the country music charts. But by the time the decade turned over, he was scuffling a bit to find the touch. While many blamed the never-ending drama in his personal life for the dip, Jones himself felt that his work wasn’t getting properly handled by his producers and record executives, which is why he decamped for Epic Records.
Jones thought that Epic’s Billy Sherrill was just the guy to transform his work, but their first few records together didn’t do much. To make matters worse, Jones’ wife at the time, Tammy Wynette, was pretty much the queen of the genre. In an interview with Billboard in 2006, Jones spoke about how it took Sherrill a while to understand just how to approach Jones’ vocal stylings.
“He just came up with that sound like he got with Tammy [Wynette], [sings] ‘Ba bum ba bum ba bum,’ build-ups, and it was a little more updated, I guess,” Jones remembered. “He tried to do that with me, but I finally had a talk with him. I said, ‘Billy, I’m country, I’m traditional, I know you’re wanting to cross over with me like you have with Tammy, Charlie Rich and those people, but I’m hardcore and I can’t help it. That’s what I feel, and I can’t do a good job for the label, you or anybody else if I don’t feel it myself.’ I had no problem after that, we’d go in and he got me a good sound. I used my fiddle and steel and good country pickers, and I guess I really just lucked up a little bit on finding the songs.”
Stranger Than Fiction
One of those songs that Jones found was a beauty written by Norro Wilson, George Richey, and Carmol Taylor. And, as was so often the case with Jones, he found himself singing about a subject that hit very closet to home. “The Grand Tour” is a song about a breakup, and, about the time he recorded it with Sherrill, his own marriage to Wynette was crumbling. Bizarrely enough, co-writer Richey would later marry Wynette in a twist that not even Jones’ most devastating songs of woe could have imagined.
If Sherrill had struggled initially producing Jones, he certainly got it just right with “The Grand Tour.” It’s clever how each section begins with Jones singing a cappella, only to be answered by a piano that almost seems to be mocking him before the whole band kicks into gear. Pete Drake provides inimitable support on steel guitar. As for Jones, listen to how he sounds genial at the beginning of each verse as he talks to the stranger, before his emotions get the better of him as he talks about his wife’s departure.
What Is “The Grand Tour” About?
“The Grand Tour” is structured as if the narrator were a real estate agent conducting an open house for potential buyers. But it quickly turns into something different when he explains that, Some things I know will chill you to the bone are waiting inside. From there, he goes through the inventory: a chair, a bed, a photo of the pair, and finally, her rings, all her things/And her clothes are in the closet .
To each of these is attached a bittersweet memory of happier times. When he shows the stranger the picture of her, he can’t help but ruminate on what might have been: Don’t it look like she’d be able/Just to touch me and say, ‘Good morning, dear.’ But since she’s gone forever , that’s an impossibility.
[RELATED: Behind the Song: George Jones, “He Stopped Loving Her Today”]
Alternative Take
It should be noted that some fans of the song believe that “The Grand Tour” doesn’t depict a divorce, but instead a scenario where the wife has died along with their child in some accident. That’s a bit of a gruesome take on it in our opinion, but the important thing is the emotion conveyed by Jones as he brings it all home: As you leave you’ll see the nursery/Oh, she left me without mercy .
“The Grand Tour” proved a massive comeback hit for Jones upon its release in 1974, and helped point the way to another monumental collaboration with Sherrill in “ He Stopped Living Her Today .” You don’t need to have lived through that kind of sadness to relate to the song, because George Jones’ performance made sure we could wallow in it with him for the course of those gloriously sorrowful three minutes.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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The Grand Tour is an album by the American country music artist George Jones, released in 1974 as his fifth album for Epic Records. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and contained the hit title track, which reached a peak of #1 in August 1974. It is Jones' 50th Album Release.
Provided to YouTube by SBCMGThe Grand Tour · George JonesThe Grand Tour℗ 1974 Sony Music EntertainmentReleased on: 1974-08-07Composer, Lyricist: Norris Wilso...
The Grand Tour by George Jones released in 1974. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic. The Grand Tour by George Jones released in 1974. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic. New Releases. Discover. Genres Moods Themes. Blues Classical Country. Electronic Folk International. Pop ...
The full album for The Grand Tour / Music by George Jones George Jones - The Grand Tour / George Jones Full Album The Grand Tour tracklist (George Jones): Th...
Cassette, Album, Club Edition. Epic - 1T1 6256: US: 1974: US — 1974. New Submission. The Grand Tour. 8-Track Cartridge, Red Cart. Epic - EA 33083: US: 1974: ... George Jones -- The Grand Tour. 3:06; Darlin' 2:05; Lists Add to List. Best albums of 1974 by tommysoul; 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (All editions combined) by fominozzi;
Listen to The Grand Tour by George Jones on Apple Music. 1974. 11 Songs. Duration: 28 minutes. ... Album · 1974 · 11 Songs. Home; Browse; Radio; Search; Open in Music. The Grand Tour . George Jones. COUNTRY · 1974 . Preview. August 1, 1974 11 Songs, 28 minutes ℗ 1974 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. Also available in the iTunes Store . More ...
Listen to The Grand Tour on Spotify. George Jones · Album · 1974 · 11 songs.
The Grand Tour is an album by the American country music artist George Jones, released in 1974 as his fifth album for Epic Records. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and contained the hit title track, which reached a peak of #1 in August 1974.
That's Why I Sing This Way. Daryle Singletary. I Told You So - The Ultimate Hits of Randy Travis. Randy Travis. The Essential Jerry Reed. Jerry Reed. Listen to The Grand Tour by George Jones on Apple Music. Stream songs including "The Grand Tour", "Darlin'" and more.
Writers Agnes Wilson, Bobby Braddock, Carmol Taylor & 12 more. Backing Vocals The Jordanaires. Bass Bob Moore. Drums Willie Ackerman. Show all albums by George Jones.
Stranger Than Fiction. One of those songs that Jones found was a beauty written by Norro Wilson, George Richey, and Carmol Taylor. And, as was so often the case with Jones, he found himself ...
The Grand Tour, an Album by George Jones. Released in August 1974 on Epic (catalog no. BL 33083; Vinyl LP). ... George Jones released this album which is often mentioned as being among his best by fans. It clocks in at less than thirty minutes, but not one of those minutes is wasted, not one string or backup vocal put in the wrong place. The ...
George Jones sings "The Grand Tour" at the "That Good Ole Nashville Music" show in 1974, hosted by Tammy Wynette. Songwriters were Norro Wilson, Carmol Taylo...
Album. The Grand Tour. 3:07. George Jones -- The Grand Tour. 3:06. Darlin'. 2:05. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1996 CD release of "The Grand Tour" on Discogs.
The Grand Tour, an Album by George Jones. Released in August 1974 on Epic (catalog no. BL 33083; Vinyl LP). Genres: Nashville Sound, Country. Rated #636 in the best albums of 1974. Featured peformers: George Jones (vocals), The Jordanaires (backing vocals), Billy Sherrill (producer), Lou Bradley (engineer), Ron Reynolds (engineer), Bergen White (arranger).
We Go Together (1971) The George Jones Sings the Great Songs of Leon Payne (1971) A Picture of Me (Without You) (1972) We Love to Sing About Jesus (1972) Me and the First Lady (1972) Nothing Ever Hurt Me (Half as Bad as Losing You) (1973) Let's Build a World Together (1973) In a Gospel Way (1974) The Grand Tour (1974)
"The Grand Tour" is a song made famous by country music singer George Jones.Originally released in 1974, the song was the title track to his album released that year. The song became Jones' sixth No. 1 song (fifth if only solo entries are considered) on Billboard ' s Hot Country Singles chart in August 1974, and was the fourth-biggest hit of the year. In 2014, Rolling Stone named the song ...
George Jones Live "The Grand Tour""The Grand Tour"Step right up, come on inIf you'd like to take the grand tourOf a lonely house that once was home sweet hom...
The Grand Tour (LP, Album, Stereo)Epic: KE 33083: Canada: 1974: New Submission. The Grand Tour (Cassette, Album, Club Edition)Epic: 1T1 6256: US: ... George Jones -- The Grand Tour. 3:06; Darlin' 2:05; Lists Add to List. Thrift shop and dollar bin finds by zbarbera; CBS 33XXX Series by Columbia39;
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The Grand Tour ; Darlin' Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through) She'll Love the One She's With; Once You've Had the Best; The Weatherman; Borrowed Angel; She Told Me So; Mary Don't Go 'Round; Who Will I Be Loving Now? Our Private Life
Provided to YouTube by Epic/LegacyThe Grand Tour · George JonesGeorge Jones - 16 Biggest Hits℗ 1974 Sony Music EntertainmentReleased on: 1998-07-14Producer: ...
Get George Jones t-shirts and more... https://amzn.to/3vTimr4 (affiliate)"The Grand Tour" was written by Norro Wilson and released in 1974, on George's album...