Music City has a brand-new tourist attraction, paying homage to one of its most noted artists: George Jones.
This past weekend in Nashville, the George Jones Museum opened to huge crowds, both during the public opening on April 24 and the VIP private event the evening before, which brought out many of the acts Jones performed with as well as some of the younger artists he influenced during his six-decade career.
But the star of opening weekend was Jones himself — and that’s the way that Nancy Jones, his widow (and museum organizer) wanted it. “I’m just so happy that everyone is here,” she told Billboard. “It’s an honor to show everyone what we’ve done. I loved my husband so much. I started in the ’50s and went to 2000. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”
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Many mementos from his Hall of Fame career are on display, including a jacket worn by the singer during his stint in the United States Marines, a letter and Bible given to Jones by his mother not long before her death in 1974, and a pair of boxing gloves autographed by George Foreman after the video shoot for “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair” in 1992. But Nancy Jones said the item that has received the most interest is the infamous lawn mower her husband used to drive to a bar in the 1960s after having his car keys taken away. “I’ve heard so many stories about it — that it happened in Tennessee or Florida, but it happened in Texas. We have it right here. This is the most exciting yet scary thing I have done in my entire life, but I want to carry George’s legacy on,” she said, adding that plans are in the works for a film to be based on the singer’s life.
The museum features a restaurant event space and a stunning 75-foot rooftop bar overlooking the Cumberland River. Also on full display is what made the singer famous in the first place: his music. Various video screens offer fans a chance to see Jones at different stages of his career, performing many of his 168 singles to enter the Billboard charts, including “Why Baby Why,” “She Thinks I Still Care” and “The Grand Tour.”
Fellow Grand Ole Opry star Jeannie Seely commended Nancy Jones for her work on the museum, saying it captured the true essence of her friend. “There was nothing besides wonderful about being around George Jones. Not only was he so magnificent on stage, but he was also so ready to greet everyone with a handshake or a hug. He also always had something funny to say. He personified soul. He just did it in a little bit of a different way. You can’t listen to ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ and not hear it.”
T.G. Sheppard noted that for all of Jones’ success, what he remembered most was just how simple of a person he was beyond the fame. “I always got a kick out of him eating a bowl of cereal after every show,” he recalled. “He would head to the bus and get a bowl out. He was just a normal person. I just enjoyed our conversations. I was honored to be able to record with him and tour with him.”
On the museum’s first floor, visitors will find a gift shop with a variety of Jones souvenirs, ranging from stuffed-animal possums (a nod to his nickname), “White Lightning” whiskey, and a unique T-shirt that features Jones from 1963 along with all his tour dates from that year on the back. But fans who might be in the market for a pair of “Possum Panties” — an item that the singer sold at his Possum Holler nightclub in the 1970s that featured a strategically placed image of Jones — are out of luck, said Nancy. “No, no, that was before my time,” she remarked with a laugh. “I calmed him down from the wild days.”