House of Hits: The Story of Houston's Gold Star/SugarHill Recording Studios (Brad and Michele Moore Roots Music) by Roger Wood Andy Bradley
Authors: Roger Wood Andy Bradley
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commercial about the way George picked that guitar. The fi rst Starday hit was
‘Y’All Come’ by Arlie Duff . George picked guitar on the second turn-around on [his live performance of ] that record, and I just said, ‘Oh gosh!’”
4 6
h o u s e o f h i t s
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By late 1954 Jones had recorded four Starday singles, all produced in the Starnes house in Beaumont. His fi rst was “No Money in This Deal” backed with “You’re in My Heart” (#130). However, neither it nor its sequel, “Play It Cool Man, Play It Cool” (#146), garnered much notice.
Sometime in 1955 Daily brought Jones to Houston for his fi rst Gold Star Studios session. The result was a runaway hit called “Why Baby Why” (#202), cowritten by Jones and his boyhood pal Darrell Edwards. The record fi rst entered the Billboard charts on October 29, 1955, and it stayed there for eighteen weeks, peaking at the number four spot. In the process it also revived the hit-making tradition at Gold Star Studios.
By the way, as writer Rich Kienzle makes clear in his liner notes essay for The Essential George Jones, “the song broke George out of obscurity, though not totally the way he (or Starday) would have liked.” As sometimes happened in those days, this surprise hit by a newcomer was quickly seized upon, rerecorded, and rushed to release by someone else. In this case, “Red Sovine and Webb Pierce, both established stars, covered the song as a duet for Decca Records. Given their star status, their version became the Number 1 record.”
Nevertheless, “Why Baby Why” signaled the arrival of Jones, and he subsequently recorded several other singles at the Gold Star facility engineered by Quinn. The biggest seller came in 1956 with the Jones-penned song “Just One More” (#264), peaking at number three. Among the others were “What Am I Worth” (#216, which went to number seven), “Ragged But Right,” “Seasons of the Heart,” “You Gotta Be My Baby” (#247), and a duet with Jeanette Hicks entitled “Yearning” (#279). At least two of those original Starday recordings were later released also on Mercury: “Just One More” (#71049) and
“Yearning” (#71061). Moreover, a few other songs, such as “Don’t Stop the Music” (#71029), were recorded at Gold Star and issued only on Mercury.
Jones and Daily thereafter staged sessions in Nashville. As an artist-producer team, they continued to collaborate through 1971, creating many other hit recordings. Supposedly it was the singer’s 1969 marriage to Tammy Wynette that eventually led Jones away from Daily, for within a year Jones was making records with her producer, Billy Sherrill. Nevertheless, Daily and Jones had experienced a productive partnership for fi fteen years, and they likely had a fairly close personal relationship. Sleepy LaBeef, a fellow musician, says: Pappy was great to all of us, but his main deal, you know, was “Thumper”
[Jones]. Yeah, well back then he like adopted George and treated him almost like he was his son, you know. George always came fi rst with Pappy. The rest of us had to line up, but George was quite a talent, and he still is. We all knew that George was the main man. Just like in Memphis, Carl Perkins and the others knew that Elvis was the main man there.
p a p py d a i ly a n d s t a r d ay r e c o r d s
4 7
Bradley_4319_BK.indd 47
1/26/10 1:12:12 PM
Jones, who has continued performing and recording in the twenty-fi rst century, is now generally acknowledged (despite some highly publicized personal foibles) as one of the greatest singers in country music history. But back when nobody could have predicted that he would ever achieve that rarefi ed cultural status, he began establishing himself during those Gold Star sessions.
Perhaps Daily’s nurturing had something to do with that. Jones had found his own distinctive voice, and he had let it sing with a naturally fl owing intensity of spirit.
‘Y’All Come’ by Arlie Duff . George picked guitar on the second turn-around on [his live performance of ] that record, and I just said, ‘Oh gosh!’”
4 6
h o u s e o f h i t s
Bradley_4319_BK.indd 46
1/26/10 1:12:12 PM
By late 1954 Jones had recorded four Starday singles, all produced in the Starnes house in Beaumont. His fi rst was “No Money in This Deal” backed with “You’re in My Heart” (#130). However, neither it nor its sequel, “Play It Cool Man, Play It Cool” (#146), garnered much notice.
Sometime in 1955 Daily brought Jones to Houston for his fi rst Gold Star Studios session. The result was a runaway hit called “Why Baby Why” (#202), cowritten by Jones and his boyhood pal Darrell Edwards. The record fi rst entered the Billboard charts on October 29, 1955, and it stayed there for eighteen weeks, peaking at the number four spot. In the process it also revived the hit-making tradition at Gold Star Studios.
By the way, as writer Rich Kienzle makes clear in his liner notes essay for The Essential George Jones, “the song broke George out of obscurity, though not totally the way he (or Starday) would have liked.” As sometimes happened in those days, this surprise hit by a newcomer was quickly seized upon, rerecorded, and rushed to release by someone else. In this case, “Red Sovine and Webb Pierce, both established stars, covered the song as a duet for Decca Records. Given their star status, their version became the Number 1 record.”
Nevertheless, “Why Baby Why” signaled the arrival of Jones, and he subsequently recorded several other singles at the Gold Star facility engineered by Quinn. The biggest seller came in 1956 with the Jones-penned song “Just One More” (#264), peaking at number three. Among the others were “What Am I Worth” (#216, which went to number seven), “Ragged But Right,” “Seasons of the Heart,” “You Gotta Be My Baby” (#247), and a duet with Jeanette Hicks entitled “Yearning” (#279). At least two of those original Starday recordings were later released also on Mercury: “Just One More” (#71049) and
“Yearning” (#71061). Moreover, a few other songs, such as “Don’t Stop the Music” (#71029), were recorded at Gold Star and issued only on Mercury.
Jones and Daily thereafter staged sessions in Nashville. As an artist-producer team, they continued to collaborate through 1971, creating many other hit recordings. Supposedly it was the singer’s 1969 marriage to Tammy Wynette that eventually led Jones away from Daily, for within a year Jones was making records with her producer, Billy Sherrill. Nevertheless, Daily and Jones had experienced a productive partnership for fi fteen years, and they likely had a fairly close personal relationship. Sleepy LaBeef, a fellow musician, says: Pappy was great to all of us, but his main deal, you know, was “Thumper”
[Jones]. Yeah, well back then he like adopted George and treated him almost like he was his son, you know. George always came fi rst with Pappy. The rest of us had to line up, but George was quite a talent, and he still is. We all knew that George was the main man. Just like in Memphis, Carl Perkins and the others knew that Elvis was the main man there.
p a p py d a i ly a n d s t a r d ay r e c o r d s
4 7
Bradley_4319_BK.indd 47
1/26/10 1:12:12 PM
Jones, who has continued performing and recording in the twenty-fi rst century, is now generally acknowledged (despite some highly publicized personal foibles) as one of the greatest singers in country music history. But back when nobody could have predicted that he would ever achieve that rarefi ed cultural status, he began establishing himself during those Gold Star sessions.
Perhaps Daily’s nurturing had something to do with that. Jones had found his own distinctive voice, and he had let it sing with a naturally fl owing intensity of spirit.
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