George Jones, 50 Years of Hits: A Soundstage Special Event

"GEORGE JONES, 50 YEARS OF HITS: A SOUNDSTAGE SPECIAL EVENT"

Country music legend George Jones, celebrates his 50th anniversary as a recording artist with a little help from his friends on GEORGE JONES, 50 YEARS OF HITS: A SOUNDSTAGE SPECIAL EVENT. The one-hour all-star tribute airs on PBS Thanksgiving night, Thursday, November 25, 2004, 10:00 pm ET. A two-hour version of the program is available in December 2004 and January 2005 (check local listings). For a complete list of participating artists, see below.

Whether the times have favored honky-tonk songs or lushly produced "pop" offerings, George Jones has continued to make his brand of country music and produced hits in every decade of the second half of the 20th century. In fact, Jones has had more charted singles than any other artist in any format of popular music.

SOUNDSTAGE recently traveled from its home studios in Chicago to Nashville's BellSouth Acuff Theatre to capture a star-studded concert salute to the extraordinary 50-year career of George Jones. His influence on artists of all genres is reflected in featured performances by everyone from Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney to Harry Connick, Jr. and Aaron Neville. The country icon himself joins in on a number of duets with several of his guests.

The SOUNDSTAGE special premieres on the heels of the release George Jones - 50 Years of Hits, a three-disc compilation featuring one song from each year of Jones' career.

At 73, George Jones continues to headline more than 100 concerts a year and is already working on his next studio album, which he says will be "songs I wished I had recorded."

GEORGE JONES, 50 YEARS OF HITS (two-hour version): Trace Adkins, Kenny Chesney, Harry Connick, Jr., Joe Diffie, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Emmylou Harris, Alan Jackson, Sammy Kershaw, Uncle Kracker, Kris Kristofferson, Shelby Lynne, Martina McBride, Lorrie Morgan, Aaron Neville, Connie Smith, Trick Pony, Randy Travis, Tanya Tucker and Wynonna.

GEORGE JONES, 50 YEARS OF HITS (one-hour version): Kenny Chesney, Harry Connick, Jr., Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Lorrie Morgan, Aaron Neville, Trick Pony, Randy Travis and Wynonna.

Co-producers: WTTW National Productions and HDReady. Executive producer: Randy King, WTTW. Producer/director: Joe Thomas, HDReady. Line producer: Nicolette Ferri, WTTW. Format: CC Surround Sound HD where available