13 Years Ago Today, George Jones Took the Stage for the Final Time, Months Before the Farewell Show He Knew He Wouldn’t Survive To Perform

On this day (April 6) in 2013, George Jones performed his final concert. That night, he took the stage at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee, and sang the hits for a crowd that contained generations of fans. His final show was initially scheduled for November at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. However, he knew he wouldn’t live long enough to see it. As a result, it became a tribute show featuring many of his friends in the music business.

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Jones had been dealing with serious health issues in early 2012. Despite being hospitalized twice that year, he announced the Grand Tour, his farewell tour in August. He was still dealing with respiratory issues and pain from multiple surgeries when he took the stage in Knoxville.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1959, George Jones Released His First No. 1—a Song That Took More Than 80 Takes To Record]

According to a review by Inside of Knoxville, Jones took the stage with some help, and a band member announced that he had just undergone two back surgeries. The icon couldn’t hide his pain from the crowd. “He stood, sat in a low chair, tried a higher chair, and generally could not seem to find a position that didn’t hurt,” the reviewer wrote.

Jones’ powerful voice was also weakened by his medical condition. However, he showed brief moments of reaching his former vocal glory. Then, he poured the rest of his energy into “He Stopped Loving Her Today” to close the show. The video above shows him performing that classic tune for the last time.

George Jones Knew He Wouldn’t Finish the Grand Tour

George Jones reportedly planned his final tour because he wanted to give back to his fans one more time before he died. As a result, he approached the tour differently.

According to The Boot, Jones agreed to a long list of press requests and chose to rehearse for days before kicking things off. He generally didn’t like to do either of those.

His widow, Nancy Jones, tried to talk him out of doing the tour, but he wouldn’t listen. She also asked him why he was agreeing to so many interviews and rehearsals. “I’m not going to be here,” he told her. “I’m going to agree to anything they ask,” he added. Then, about his scheduled final concert in Nashville, he said, “Promise me you’ll make a tribute show out of it, and I’ll see it from heaven.”

“I just did my last show,” he told Nancy after his concert in Knoxville. “And I gave ‘em hell.”

According to her, his fans knew he was weakening and probably wouldn’t live much longer. So, they wanted to show up to prove that he still had droves of fans. As for Jones, “He just wanted to prove he loved them.”

Jones’ Final Days

George Jones was hospitalized on April 18, 2003, for irregular blood pressure and a mild fever. He spent the next eight in Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. The country legend died on April 26 from hypoxic respiratory failure, leaving behind an immortal legacy and generations of heartbroken fans.

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