On This Day in 1955, George Jones Released What Would Be His Second Hit Single, Co-Written With His Childhood Friend

On this day (January 14) in 1955, George Jones released “What Am I Worth” as a single from his debut album, Grand Ole Opry’s New Star. It became his second single to reach the country chart. Moreover, it was his second consecutive top 10 hit.

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Jones’ career started slowly. Cutting songs with Pappy Daily’s Starday Records produced lower-quality recordings with limited distribution. However, his voice and ability to write and select songs would help him land on the Billboard charts 11 times throughout the 1950s.

His first five singles failed to chart. Then, he released “Why Baby Why” in 1965. It reached No. 4 on the chart. Then, he followed that with “What Am I Worth,” which peaked at No. 7. Those two songs shared one thing in common with many of his early hits, including the No. 1 single “Tender Years.” That commonality was co-writer Darrell Edwards.

George Jones Finds Success with His Childhood Friend

Author Bob Allen revealed the connection between Jones and Darrell Edwards in his book George Jones: The Life and Times of a Honky Tonk Legend. He grew up across the street from Jones in Texas. Then, enlisted in the Coast Guard. After discharging, he returned to the Lone Star State and found his old pal after a show.

Edwards had been writing poetry while in the Coast Guard. He showed his work to Jones, and soon they formed a songwriting partnership. They wrote many songs together in the early years of Jones’ career, and several of them became hits. Below is a list of their collaborative compositions.

• “Accidentally on Purpose”
• “Everything Ain’t Right”
• “Mr. Fool”
• “Out of Control”
• “Root Beer”
• “Seasons of My Heart”
• “That’s All It Took”
• “Three’s a Crowd”
• “Who Shot Sam”
• “What Am I Worth”
• “Why Baby Why”

Edwards also co-wrote “Old Brush Arbors” with Gordon Ardis and “Old Blue Tomorrow” with Lawrence Flowers.

It’s hard to say where George Jones’ career would have gone in those early days without the help of Darrell Edwards.

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