"That was something I backed up against completely," he admitted. "I was scared to death that the critics were going to cream me over it. I told him, 'Man, I don't know. This is like going into sacred ground.' Basically, I tried to keep it true to Billy Sherrill's original, because that will always be the quintessential record. I just hope that people will be kind, and not just think that I was pompous enough to think I could ever match that record."
Jones recorded a lot of older songs for Hits I Missed ... and One I Didn't, but also tried his hand at more recent fare including Alan Jackson's "Here In the Real World" and Randy Travis' "On the Other Hand."
The selection of material on the album is stellar with covers of songs famously performed by Mark Chesnutt ("Too Cold At Home" Vern Gosdin ("If You're Gonna Do Me Wrong"); the Mel Tillis penned and Bobby Bare signature hit "Detroit City;" and Johnny Rodriguez's 1972 debut hit ("Pass Me By"). [p] "Like anything else that George records, he made it his own," Travis said. "He's just one of those guys. If I were gonna call out two of the most unique vocalists I've ever heard or ever will hear, it'd be George Jones and Ray Charles." [p] A song associated with Charles, the Harlan Howard-penned "Busted," also appears on Hits I Missed ... and One I Didn't. Stegall says it was Jones' idea to give the track a Cajun feel. "I thought that was kinda neat, because we did it a little different than Ray Charles did it," Stegall said. "They were all a blast to redo. It was great to hear him sing them the way he sings 'em." [p] The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum in Nashville salutes George Jones at "The Grand Tour: George Jones Country" exhibit which was unveiled in December and runs through May 2006. The exhibit examines Jones' 50-year career, from his early Starday recordings, through the scores of Country classics recorded solo and with Tammy Wynette. [p] © 2005 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc. [p] _z_countrymusic_z_);