Playin' Possum

My Memories of George Jones

By: Nancy Jones, Ken Abraham - contributor

Narrated by: Maria Ru-Djen

In Playin' Possum, listeners get an intimate look at country music legend George Jones through the eyes of his wife of thirty years.

Ask anyone who knows country music, “Who was the GOAT—the greatest of all time?” and the answers will inevitably lead to George Jones.

Millions of people know the name of the iconic country music artist, George Jones, but few people know that behind the man and his golden voice was a strong, feisty woman who not only saved his life from cocaine addiction, alcoholism, and other abusive and self-destructive behaviors, but also was instrumental in saving his soul.

Legends, half-truths, and downright lies abound about the iconic singer, but what secrets do people not know about him? What was it like to live with him through the darkest shadows and in the brightest of lights?

Married for more than thirty years to the greatest country music singer who ever lived, the man Frank Sinatra had whimsically referred to as “the second-greatest singer in America,” Nancy Jones knew George Jones better than anyone else on earth—the good George and the bad George, the horrendous, and the hilarious. George and Nancy married March 4, 1983, and with her help and encouragement, he quit his wild and wicked ways—for a while. Nancy soon learned, however, that the demons held a strong grip on the man she loved, and they were not about to release him without a fight. But Nancy Jones is a tenacious fighter, and most people who knew “the Possum,” credit Nancy with saving his life and rebuilding his career.

For the first time, in Playin' Possum, Nancy Jones reveals the true “insider” perspectives and little known poignant and as well as humorous stories about the country music icon—his battles with cocaine, alcohol, abusive behavior toward her and others, his battles with himself, and most of all, his battles against the demons that sought to control him and ultimately destroy him.

©2023 Nancy Jones (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

More great stories, less judgment

I very much enjoyed Nancy Jones stories of her late husband, iconic country singer George Jones. At the beginning, when she first began to know George, I wondered, as someone who has been through this on the daughters end of things, why did she allow her daughter to continue to be exposed to that? I wondered why she wouldn’t have gotten away from George he was throwing her and her daughter out on numerous occasions. As the book progressed, I wondered why she was writing such hateful, judgmental things about George Jones’s children when she claimed to be such a child of God. If George Jones wanted Georgette Jones to know that he hated the song that they did together, he would’ve probably told her during his lifetime. I didn’t think it was appropriate for her to dredge up the past, not even in an autobiography. There are certain things that, although may be true, should probably be left unsaid. I would be furious if my significant other chose to tell my child, grown or not, a minute detail of some thing I had thought of years ago. It made a book that could’ve easily been rated five stars not as great. But she did save George Jones life and there are many beautiful stories in this book as well. I just found the ones that she chose distasteful at times. It’s like this was her last ditch effort to take jabs at some of George’s children and credit herself, patting herself on the back for everything she did for George.m

Wonderful!

Love this book. Such a wonderful story and strong faith in God. So glad I read this book. Great book for any George Jones fan.

Which Came First: Nancy’s Book or the Max Movie

The book and the Max movie George and Tammy are VERY similar. Also, Nancy really should have proofed the audio version of this book. Many names and places are misspelled. For example, the town Vidor has a long I and it’s Tan-ya Tucker, not Ton-ya Tucker. The narrator also uses a sarcastic voice when I don’t think Nancy intended it as such. I was extremely turned off by the book because Nancy portrays herself as perfect, when her oldest daughter was dragged through all that abuse, alcoholism and cocaine mess. Some things could be left unsaid. Jones Country failed partially due to staff shortages, because she was an angry person.