A Picture of Me (Without You)

About A Picture of Me (Without You)

A Picture of Me (Without You) is an album by American country music singer George Jones. It was released in 1972 on the Epic Records label. Jones's second solo recording on Epic is one of five albums released by the singer in 1972 (three of his own and two duet albums with his wife Tammy Wynette) as producer Billy Sherrill wasted no time in flooding the market with new recordings by "the Possum". Jones's first album, George Jones (We Can Make It), made it to number 10 on the country albums charts but his second effort did better, rising to number three and featuring songs with a wider range of themes than those found on his Epic debut, which celebrated the happiness of new love. The album's title track was the only single release from it, peaking at #5 on the Billboard country singles charts. In addition to love ballads, A Picture of Me (Without You) also includes songs more in line with Jones's reputation as country music's greatest interpreter of heartache, like the bitter "On The Back Row" and the Ernest Tubb classic "Tomorrow Never Comes" (which Elvis Presley had recorded the year before). The collection also contains Tom T. Hall's "Second Handed Flowers", the kind of "story song" that had always been a part of Jones's repertoire. After a shaky start, Jones and Sherrill sound more comfortable with each other's formidable reputation as they get to know each other musically. Their creative partnership would often be a compromise between the producer's sonic experimentation and the singer's hardcore country instincts. Biographer Bob Allen quotes the singer in his book George Jones: The Life and Times of a Honky Tonk Legend: "I've got too much respect for country music to abuse it. I don't want a thousand violins and twenty trumpets on my records." more »