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

On this day (February 9) in 1959, George Jones released “White Lightning” as a single. Jones was so drunk during the recording session that they had to do dozens of takes before they finally nailed it. Later that year, the hard work and frustration paid off when it became Jones’ first No. 1.

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“White Lightning” was released less than one week after its writer and Jones’ friend, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, died in a tragic plane crash along with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. As a result, he didn’t get to see his friend make one of his songs a major hit.

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

“White Lightning” reached No. 1 on the country chart in April. It retained the top spot for six weeks, making it not just Jones’ first No. 1, but one of his biggest hits. “Tender Years,” which spent seven weeks at No. 1, was his only single to spend more time at the top of the tally.

George Jones Was Almost Too Drunk to Record This Ode to ‘Shine

George Jones’ issues with alcohol were well-documented. However, most point to things that happened later in his career to illustrate how deeply in the bottle he had gotten himself. The infamous lawnmower ride and the string of missed shows that led him to be called No-Show Jones are solid examples. However, the recording session for “White Lightning” is proof that his drinking was a problem much earlier in his career.

According to Songfacts, they ran through 83 takes before they finally called it a day. They went through the song so many times that bassist Buddy Killen’s fingers were bleeding before the session ended. “Killen said he wore the skin off his fingers playing that same opening, and had to wear Band-Aids to cover raw blisters,” Jones said. “Years later, he said he could still remember the pain from playing that kick-off over and over on the stiff, woven-wire strings of an upright bass.”

Adding insult to injury, producer Pappy Daily eventually chose to release the first take they did. They did 82 takes of the song for nothing.

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