George Jones Was Once Arrested For Throwing A Whiskey Bottle At His Own Band Member During A Show

The Possum was a wild one.

George Jones was arguably one of the greatest country music singers of all time. And by all accounts, he was generally quiet and reserved – until he started drinking and popping pills.

The “He Stopped Loving Her Today” singer was well-known for his wild antics when he was under the influence, including once having to be hogtied by Waylon Jennings after getting too rowdy and punching Waylon in the face, and of course infamously driving his lawnmower to the liquor store when his wife took his keys from him.

Though he was generally a shy and respectful guy (when he was sober), Jones also had a bit of a wild side to him too – and it got him into some trouble more than a few times.

Jones called his backing band “The Jones Boys,” and early in his career the original Jones Boys was made up of a group of brothers: Don Adams, Gary Adams, and Arnie Adams. But the group also had their own band, The Adams Brothers, who would sometimes open for Jones at his shows.

Well during an episode of Mike Judge’s Tales From The Tour Bus, Don Adams recalled an incident when The Adams Brothers was opening a show in Bandera, Texas (while also serving as Jones’ backing band for the evening) when Jones got a little too rowdy.

“He was out in the crowd drinking at a table. He threw the whiskey bottle at me on the bandstand. It missed me about that far. And when we finally got done that night, we just walked off the stage. It was what it was. And we quit.”

But Adams says that while they were loading up their gear, Jones came back ready for a fight:

“Went and started loading the car and trailer up, and I heard gravel shuffling behind me when I was putting stuff in.

I turned around and he took a swing, and I took the trailer door and hit him in the face with it. It knocked him down.”

Well apparently there was an unfortunate witness to the incident – at least for Jones:

“The sheriff was standing down there and he said, ‘What do you want me to do with him, Don?’ I said, ‘Put him in jail.’ 

So they put him in jail and I took his car and went home. He called and fired us the next day.”

But that wasn’t the first time Jones had attempted to fire his band, with Gary Adams recalling “four or five times” that George had already “fired” them.

It was also far from the only time Jones found himself behind bars. He was involved in several high speed chases with police over the years, and of course there’s the infamous video from his 1982 DUI arrest:

It wasn’t until Jones married his wife Nancy in 1983 that Jones really was able to sober up and clean up his image. But in 1999, Jones was once again arrested and charged with DUI after an accident near his Nashville home. And it was after that accident that the country music legend decided to give up alcohol once and for all:

“I made up my mind, it put the fear of God in me. No more smoking, no more drinking. I didn’t have to have no help, I made up my mind to quit. I don’t crave it.”

The Possum definitely had some wild stories throughout his life. He was a complicated man who had his personal struggles, but it was those struggles and the way he was able to overcome them that’s just part of what makes him one of the greatest country artists of all time.

God bless George Jones.

The post George Jones Was Once Arrested For Throwing A Whiskey Bottle At His Own Band Member During A Show first appeared on Whiskey Riff.