Probably one of the most memorable speeches in ACM Awards history.
The ACM’s will return to Texas this year with Reba McEntire returning as host, and it will all stream live exclusively on Prime Video from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco this Thursday, May 8th at 8 PM ET. They’re celebrating the 60th anniversary of the show with a pretty good group of performers lined up, so that is something to look forward to if you’re planning to tune in.
And while award shows are certainly not what they used to be, back in the day, artists like George Jones, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and many other legends took home trophies regularly, and it’s always fun to look back on what was going on during the glory days, if you will. Of course, the legend himself, George Jones, was never one to hold back, and he gave a hilarious speech after winning Top Male Vocalist of the Year in 1981.
Jones was up against Ronnie Milsap, Eddie Rabbitt, Kenny Rogers and Don Williams for that aforementioned category at the 16th Academy of Country Music Awards, and during his acceptance speech, he had the whole audience roaring with laughter, including his ex-wife, Tammy Wynette.
Of course, if you know anything at all about country music, then you’ve probably heard tons of stories about the very tumultuous relationship Tammy and George had. They ended up staying married for just 5 years and got divorced on January 8th, 1975, although they continued collaborating on projects together for many years. The fought like cats and dogs, and both had already been divorced twice when they met in 1969.
Wynette eventually married George Richey, a writer and producer she’d know for years before they got together, on July 6th, 1978 and they remained married until she passed away in 1998. He eventually became her manager, and while he and Jones were rumored to have beef pretty much forever (Wynette’s daughters also accused Richey of being abusive), especially after he married Jones’ ex-wife… I mean, it’s easy to see why the two of them weren’t besties.
So the fact that he took a shot at Richie during this televised event is extremely funny, and very on-brand… Jones thanked his team and fans who helped make the award possible, and he also thanked his “ex-wife, and my new husband-in-law:”
“This is the greatest thrill of my life. You know, everybody says things like that, but things that have happened so good for me in the past few months. All you people have made it happen for me, and we love you, and we appreciate you. We thank Columbia Records and Epic, and we thank all our fans especially. And I thank my ex-wife, and my mew husband-in-law.”
Just savage, and you can see the camera pan to Wynette, who is clearly laughing pretty hard and I think took it pretty well. I mean, she knew the guy better than anybody, so I’m sure she wasn’t shocked by it and honestly, it was a harmless joke that I’m sure had people talking for days afterward. It seemed like one of those “it’s a joke but not really” kind of things, but when your ex-wife moves on with someone new and you’re a little salty, I guess this is the perfect place to put them on blast while still maintaining the humor.
But at the same time, if Tammy didn’t get remarried, would’ve George been inspired to record “He Stopped Lover Her Today” and revive his career? Maybe not… and then he wouldn’t have won the award. The song also won Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the 1982 ACMs so maybe there is a genuine attitude to thanking him. Sarcastic maybe, but not untrue.
I would love to see an award show in 2025 that’s HALF this interesting… do yourself a favor and check it out, it’s a great, light-hearted moment that tops and speech we’ll probably see this year:
