As many of you may already know, I consider Marty Stuart to be one of Nashville’s very best entertainers, but more important than that, one of my dearest friends.  We both grew up on the Opry and had many good times together.

One of those times was in the same old white van that I talked about in my Memories and Practical Jokes post. After a Friday night at the Opry, we ended up at Marty’s apartment.  We spent the entire night visiting and picking. Before long, we realized Saturday Morning had rolled around.  We decided to go downtown for an early lunch.  We were both working the Opry again that night.  Marty was working with Lester Flatt at that time and I was doing a Kellogg Cereal Commercial with the Willis Brothers.

We decided to go to Elliston Place in Nashville to have lunch, where many of the entertainers still hang out today.  After leaving Elliston Place and heading down Church Street, we got caught up in a long line of traffic.  To save time, I decided we needed to find a different route, so we turned off Church Street, into what ended up being an alley that was barely wide enough for the van.  I saw a man up ahead, dressed in a nice black suit, motioning for us to follow him.  Marty and I thought it was really nice of him to be directing traffic, and dressed so well at that!  We followed his directions, and turned right.  Very soon we noticed the car in front of us wasn’t just any car.  About that same time, we noticed the markers and flags on the side of the alley.

By the time we realized we were heading up a funeral possession, following the Hearse, it was far too late to get out of the mess we were in.  We could only hope they thought we were the flower delivery Van as we continued on through.  It was a sobering moment.

Mark Jones, early years at the Grand Ole Opry

Marty Stuart, early years in Entertainment

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As I look back at my life, through all the crazy years of growing up, I realize that all my friends and I had one thing in common; Our lives were NOT normal!  We did, however, have quite a few things in common. We were raised at the Grand Ole Opry or in the back seat of a car, riding 500 hundred miles, right next to or under a bass fiddle.  Sometimes we were riding on the top bunk of a camper or motor home.  Whatever the case, our common bond was…Entertainment.

There was so much comradary and respect between our parents, that I think it rolled down to our generation.  Along with comradary and respect came a lot of practical jokes. One that I recall:

Mom and Dad’s friends, Ben and Margaret Smathers had a family group called the Stoney Mountain Cloggers. Their kids, which were a part of the group, were all about my same age, and they were square dancers at the Opry.  Micky Smathers, the oldest son, was getting married, and announced that the wedding would be on stage at the Ryman Auditorium, where the Grand Ole Opry was at that time.

Hal Smathers, Micky’s brother, asked if I would give him a ride to the wedding. Now don’t get me wrong, he was a good friend, but at that time, I would much rather have been spending time with Candy or Debbie Smathers!  They were much better looking and far more appealing to me at that time!!

However, I did pick Hal up and took him to the wedding.  I parked my old white Ford Van in the lot right by the Ryman and we went inside.  The wedding and the reception was over just in time for rush hour traffic.  Rush hour traffic in Nashville is something that I still hate today.  When we rounded the corner, walking toward the van, I realized that the only thing worse than rush hour traffic, would be rush hour traffic in a van with JUST MARRIED and  FUN TONIGHT  written on the windows, while dragging cans, high heels, and other decorative things.  It even had handcuffs hanging from the antenna. 

Now, to make it worse, Hal had a full beard, as did I. The facial expressions of people passing us in traffic, was definately comical.

Judging by how hard Ben Smathers was laughing, it was clear to us that he had something to do with this practical joke, and I always wondered if Dad (Grandpa Jones) might have helped out a little!

Dad and Ben

Stoney Mountain Cloggers (Smathers Family Group)

Hal and Debbie

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There is an old saying that says, “Behind every good man is a good woman.”   In the music business, behind every good entertainer, there is a group of good musicians.  Behind every comedian, there is a good straight man.  Having said all of this, when I think of Grandpa Jones, my father’s career, I think of George McCormick.  He worked with my dad for many years.  George was like dad’s third hand.  If he forgot a joke or words to a song, George would feed him the lines, under his breath.  If dad broke a string on his banjo, George would have the string changed and tuned before the next song was over.  Whatever was needed, George was there.

When we traveled, George did a lot of the driving.  I remember one time in Durango, dad had given him some money to fill the bus up and he dropped a hundred dollar bill. The wind caught it and blew it across the road.  George ran after it.  Every time he would get close, the wind would catch it again.  He ran right out into the road and didn’t stop until he caught it.

I would sit up front and listen to him tell stories about his many experiences while working in country music.  He talked about coming to Nashville and staying at Mom Upchurch’s Boarding House.  She was a little old lady that took in country pickers, song writers, and road musicians.

He worked with many different artist including,  Big Jeff, Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper, and Martha Carson.  For many years, he played guitar and sung with Porter Wagner, as one of the Wagon Masters.  He gave me one of the original Wagon Master’s coats.

One story that comes to mind while George was working with dad:  Doyle Dykes had just started working with dad on the road. It was actually his first date to play with them.  Dad had a habit of traveling as far as he could and not stopping at the first available motel.  Sometimes this didn’t work out so well and they would find themself without a motel room for the night.  This was exactly what happened the first night Doyle worked with them.  George was telling Grandpa,  “You’d better get a room!”

Dad was saying, “I’m not getting a room!”

When they finally did stop, there were no rooms to be had.  They decided to just park and sleep on the bus but they only had two pillows.  Both of them was on their best behavior and gave Doyle Dykes, the new kid, a pillow.

Grandpa then tossed the other pillow to George.  George, being respectful, tossed it back to Grandpa, and this started an all out pillow fight over who would sleep on the pillow, each trying to give to the other until they finally ended up mad at each other, not speaking to each other even into the next day.    You truly become family when you work together on the road.

He is serious about his music, but an overall fun guy to work with.

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My first experience on the Grand Ole Opry stage was when I was fifteen years old.  I had gone down to the Opry with Mom and Dad, who were both playing that night.  I was in Earl Scruggs dressing room backstage visiting with a friend of mine, Jody Maphis, who was playing drums with Earl, when Earl turned to me and asked me to come out on stage and play with them. He wanted to be able to showcase the different styles of banjo that we played. I played the old clawhammer style and he played the finger roll style. I almost fell over. I couldn’t believe that a world renowned picker like Earl would ask me, who was just a kid to play on stage along side him. I was so excited. I framed the first dollar that I made and I still have it to this day.

A couple years later, I had begun to take guitar lessons from Ed Hyde, who was a staff musician on the Opry. He brought it to my attention that Curtis McPete, who played with the Willis Brothers, was leaving and going with Danny Davis and The Nashville Brass. The Willis Brothers had been doing the Kelloggs Corn Flakes Commercials, with Curtis on banjo. Ed Hyde asked me if I would be interested in taking Curtis’s place in the commercials.

So I immediately talked my way into a cooperative education class in my high school, that would allow me to leave school at 12:30 every day.  I used those sixteen free hours every week to practice my banjo picking.  Sixteen hours per week practice for a minute and a half commercial!

My wife asked me tonight,  “What subject are you not any good at?”  

My reply was, “All of them!”

Everyone in life gets their education in different ways.  Mine just happened to be a lot of fun!

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I was very excited to get the opportunity to record a new CD with mom, Ramona Jones, and the many family and friends that we have worked with through the years. Many of whom worked with us at the “Grandpa Jones Family Dinner Theater, in Mountain View, Arkansas. Also, some new friends that mom has performed with over the last few years in Nashville. She is an exceptional old time fiddle player and I am so proud to be able to record with her again.

The CD will have over 20 songs/tunes on it featuring:  Ramona Jones on Fiddle, Mandolin, Vocals

Alisa Jones Wall  on Hammered Duclimer and Vocals, Ron Wall on Autoharp and Vocals, Ruth McClain on Upright Bass and Vocals,  Greg Davis on Rythem Guitar, Banjo and Vocals,  Danny Dozier on Travis Style Guitar,   Larry Sledge on Mandolin and Vocals, Greg Moody on Mandolin, Lead and Rythem Guitar and Vocals, and myself, Mark Jones on Banjo and 5-String Dobro.   

I am always amazed when I play with these guys at the amount of talent that they have.  It is not only easy to work with these guys but also lots of fun since we have worked together for so many years. It is like coming home anytime we are together. We always have lots of catching up to do.  Every year these guys are good enough  to come to Mountain View, Arkansas  to the Grandpa Jones tribute that is held on Labor Day weekend at the Ozark Folk Center in honor of my dad. 

I believe that the new CD will be entitled “Falling Leaves”  after the song that dad wrote. Hopefully we will be able to get it released before too long. Look for it on this site. We will have it here for you as soon as it is available.

Good talking to you. Come back and see me soon!

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A Note From Mark:  My first memories of the Grand Ole Opry, was as a child, with my mom and dad, Grandpa and Ramona Jones.  We spent most every Friday and Saturday night at the Ryman Auditorium.  The Ryman Auditorium was an old church, built by Captain Ryman, full of character and history, even before the Grand Ole Opry bagan to have shows there, but nothing to compare with the character that was to come later.  Each entertainer,  in those days was talented and unique in their own special way.  That was back in the day when each song that was played actually sounded different from the one before. The entertainers in those days  performed from their hearts to the hearts of the people. The songs were written to touch the hearts of the common, hard working person.  Not just geared toward a teenage market, fad music, to make a quick sale.  As a good friend of mine, Libby Leverett-Crew, (daughter of Les Leverett, Opry Photographer)  stated in her book,  Saturday Nights with Daddy At The Opry,  I quote:   Even with gum stuck on the underside of the pews, the stench of stale cigarette smoke and buttery popcorn, and the loud, loud music, there was something reverential about the building”.

Most of my childhood memories were centered around that entertainers of that era.  Memories of friends likes Stringbean, who was always giving me popcorn money and not taking any change back. Stringbean was dad’s best friend in those days. I remember one time going with dad and Stringbean to the Opry on an icy night. Estelle, Stringbean’s wife, usually did all the driving for String. She didn’t want to drive that night, because of the bad roads, so dad drove him.  We got out at the Opry on solid ice. String was carrying his costume bag in one hand and his banjo case in the other.  He was bent over from the hips, going across the ice. I asked him why he was walking like that and he answered,  “As tall as I am,  if I fall, it won’t hurt as bad from here.”    

For some reason that logic made a lot of sense to me.  I feel so blessed to have grown up in that era, with the role models that I had.  Check back in for more stories. Thanks for stopping by.

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