Very interesting

http://www.cmt.com/news/20-questions/1510246/20-questions-with-george-jones.jhtml

Just pulling some interesting questions and answers out:

3. What led you to records the song "Choices"?

The funny thing about "Choices" is that I had passed on it for two previous albums. Billy Yates, who wrote the song, is a good friend. He used to be my wife Nancy's hairdresser! He had also written and pitched me "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair," so he kept bringing me "Choices." When we were putting together the songs for The Cold Hard Truth album, he pitched it again and everyone -- the label, my producer Keith Stegall -- loved it. It sounded good to me that time, and so we recorded it. Of course, we had no idea that I would have the car accident and that the song would so perfectly fit the situation at the moment. It was also my last highest-ranking radio hit. Of course, they probably played it because they thought I was dying or would have died. But the people love it. I do it in my shows and the reaction is the same as if it had been a No. 1 record.
 

6. What is your fondest memory of Johnny Cash?

Johnny was just a really good friend. He helped me a lot in my early days. He was a big star, and he took a lot of us out as part of his package show. He had a nickname for me, which was "Little Pal." He was always there for me. No matter how messed up I was or what I needed, I never had to ask -- he was just a solid friend. He was one of my closest friends, and I miss him a lot. We were always in touch and, in fact, I was out at his house just a few days before he died.

7. How did you get the name "Possum"?

I got the name from two radio jocks -- Ralph Emery and Tommy T. Cutrer. They had a profile photo of me and decided that my nose from the side looked like a possum.

16. Do you hear a lot of feedback from the younger generation on your music?

I get a lot of feedback from young people. They come to my shows. For those people that believe that I only have an older audience, they are crazy. My audience is all ages. You look out into the crowd and you see small children, teenagers, tattooed, body-pierced young people and everyone else. Young people come to the gates of my property, and when they see me, they want to talk about all the old songs. I say to them, "These records were hits years before you were born. How do you know them?" They tell me that they discover my music on the Internet or that they heard their parents play my music. They know all the words to my songs. I see them singing along at shows.

I never have a problem getting the people -- at any age -- to listen and like my music. The only problem I have in getting my music heard is the gatekeepers of the music industry that decide they no longer want me in the business. They have new artists that they are developing, and they don't want me to take up a slot. The gatekeepers have a lot of money invested in the new acts, and the last thing they want is for one of us "veteran" artists to get any attention.

19. Where do you see country music headed?

My fear is that there will be no country music. As it gets watered down and homogenized, it seems to be losing what made it country. It seems to me that the record business is slotting everything that is not good enough for rock or pop into the country category. But I also think that artists will continue to come along and try to do real country music. They seem to be exiled to small independent labels and don't get the marketing push that is needed these days, but they still try and sing country.