New Country Hits

Untitled

New Country Hits is an album by American country music artist George Jones. It was released in 1965 on the Musicor Records label.

Background

New Country Hits features Jones's first studio recording of "Take Me", a song he co-wrote with Leon Payne and would record more famously with Tammy Wynette. The album also includes the hits "Love Bug" (inspired by Buck Owens and the Bakersfield sound) and the self-pitying "Things Have Gone To Pieces". Although he stuck to country music with a vengeance, Jones did his best to record a wide range of songs under the country umbrella, stating in the 1989 documentary Same Ole Me, "I've always tried to be versatile. I've always tried to do up-tempos and novelties and ballads." The album is also noteworthy for its cover, which features the singer's backing band the Jones Boys. Like Buck Owens' Buckaroos and Merle Haggard's Strangers, Jones worked with many musicians who were great talents in their own right, including Johnny Paycheck, who played bass and sang harmony with Jones before going on to his own stardom in the 1970s. Paycheck is seated next to Jones on the cover of the album.

Reception

Upon release, New Country Hits rose to number 5 on the country music album chart. Critic Eugene Chadbourne of AllMusic writes that "the slightly strained, bluegrass-influenced high-end vocals are here, along with overwhelming dips into the baritone end and phrasing that rivals that of jazz singer Billie Holiday's" and adds that "the musicians sound wonderful here, creating a sentimental old-time country sound when necessary in the devastating "I'm Wasting Good Paper" or delivering the type of twangy honky-tonk country fans associate with Bakersfield..."

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link

Track listing

1. "Love Bug" (Wayne Kemp, Curtis Wayne) - 2:03
2. "Til I Hear from You" (George Jones, Jack Ripley)- 2:26
3. "I Made Her That Way" (George Jones, Dale Ward) - 2:24
4. "I'm Wasting Good Paper" (Earl Montgomery)- 2:29
5. "Along Came You" (Wayne Kemp, George Jones, Jack Rich) - 2:30
6. "I'd Rather Switch Than Fight" (Wayne Kemp) - 2:05
7. "Things Have Gone to Pieces" (Leon Payne) - 2:52
8. "If You Won't Tell on Me" (Dallas Frazier) - 2:35
9. "Memory Is a Flower" (George Jones, Jimmy Day) - 2:59
10. "Feeling Single, Seeing Double" (Wayne Kemp) - 2:07
11. "We're Watching Our Step" (Melba Montgomery, Earl Montgomery) - 2:58
12. "Take Me" (George Jones, Leon Payne) - 2:40

Chart positions

Album – Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1965	Country Albums	5

External links

• George Jones' Official Website