A collection of unreleased George Jones duets entitled “Burn Your Playhouse Down” (Bandit Records) will be released on August 19. The recordings range from the mid-70s with his ex-wife Tammy Wynette to the most recent recording from 2007 with his daughter, Georgette, the only child from the union of George and Tammy.
Seven of the recordings are extra songs, not included in The Bradley Barn Sessions that MCA Records released in 1994. Produced by Brian Ahern, the Bradley Barn recordings brought together superstar musicians and singers from both the country and rock world. Recorded during the worst ice storm in Tennessee history, the 1993 sessions, which took place over the course of several weeks, brought together Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Leon Russell and Marty Stuart – as the core of the studio band with Keith Richards, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris trading off as instrumentalists and vocalists on many of the songs.
The top players in Nashville – Eddie Bayers, Mac McAnally, Jerry Douglas, Glenn Worf, Brent Rowan, Glen D. Hardin, John Jennings, Harry Stinson, Richard Bennett and many more made the icy trek every day to Mt. Juliet, about 30 miles outside of Nashville. No one wanted to miss these historic sessions which paired Jones with a selection of superstars influenced by the artist they considered the greatest living country singer. Ahern produced the classic Jones hits as an acoustic project to give the songs a different feel than the originals.
The complete track list for Burn Your Playhouse Down includes:
• “Burn Your Playhouse Down,” Keith Richards
• “Window Up Above,” Leon Russell
• “Selfishness In Man,” Vince Gill
• “She Once Lived Here,” Ricky Skaggs
• “I Always Get Lucky With You,” Mark Knopfler
• “You’re Still On My Mind,” Marty Stuart
• “When The Grass Grows Over Me,” Mark Chesnutt
• “I Always Get It Right With You,” Shelby Lynne
• “Tavern Choir,” Jim Lauderdale
• “Rockin’ Years,” Dolly Parton
• “Lovin’ You, Lovin’ Me,” Tammy Wynette
• “You And Me And Time,” Georgette Jones