George Jones Museum to Open in Downtown Nashville
George Jones is getting his own museum. The man often regarded as the greatest country music singer of all-time will be celebrated and remembered with the George Jones Museum, a new facility set to open in downtown Nashville.
“We are overjoyed to share George’s legacy and memory with the Nashville community,” Jones’ widow Nancy Jones said in a statement announcing the museum. “We hope that this will draw George’s friends and fans worldwide to our great city. George and I made this our home, and he would be happy to know that we found a home to continue his legacy in the heart of Music City.”
While no timetable has been given for the museum’s opening, the building is already standing: a former multi-story nightclub on Second Avenue, just north of Nashville’s famed strip of honky-tonks on Lower Broadway. Upon renovation, the structure will house a gift shop, restaurant, music venue and event space — along with an array of Jones memorabilia.
Jones’ museum won’t be the first to have inhabited that block. A shrine to Charlie Daniels, now shuttered, once operated a few doors down.
Jones, nicknamed “The Possum” for his marsupial-like appearance, is one of country music’s most popular figures. Known for his unique voice and the unconventional way he delivered a lyric — as well as for his notorious drinking and subsequent “no shows” at concerts — the Country Music Hall of Fame member has recorded such lonesome gems as “The Grand Tour” and “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” both included on Rolling Stone Country‘s list of the 40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time.
The singer died April 26, 2013, at age 81 in a Nashville hospital after being admitted with a fever and irregular blood pressure. He was memorialized this past November, at what was to be his final live performance, with an all-star tribute concert featuring George Strait, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and others.