He still had 9 tour dates left on his schedule when he walked off the stage at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum that night.
But George Jones knew he was done.
Back in 2012, the country music legend announced what would be the final dates for his farewell tour, fittingly called The Grand Tour.
The tour was a celebration of a career that spanned nearly 60 years, and produced some of country music’s most memorable hits like “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” “White Lightning,” “Tennessee Whiskey” and more. George had said before that he wanted to die on stage…and he nearly did.
Jones had been suffering from health problems, and at 80 years old, George announced his farewell tour knowing full well that he probably wouldn’t make it to the end of it. In fact, his wife Nancy even begged him to come off the road and stop agreeing to add dates to his schedule:
“I said, ‘Why are you agreeing to everything?’ and he said, ‘’Cause I’m not going to be here. I’m going to agree to anything they ask. Promise me you’ll make a tribute show out of it, and I’ll see it from heaven.’”
George almost made it to the end of the tour, which was supposed to wrap up in November with one final show at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
But after a stop in Knoxville on April 6, 2013, though, he knew he wasn’t going to be there for that last stop on the tour.
He gave it a heroic effort in his final show. He remained seated throughout the performance, and the keys were lowered so that he could hit all the notes with his worn out voice. And he joked with the crowd throughout the night, giving them a show that nobody in the crowd would forget.
Of course he ended the show with “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” And when he walked off the stage, he knew it was for the final time.
George told Nancy after the show:
“I just did my last show. And I gave ’em hell.”
Jones was admitted to the hospital shortly thereafter, where he remained until he passed away on April 26th, 2013, at the age of 81.
But for one last night in Knoxville, he gave ’em hell.
Here’s his final performance of “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”
