''Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes'' is the 45th studio album by American country music

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, the ...

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

, released in 1985 on the

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical mu ...

label. The album is best known for the title track and its classic video, which would go on to win the CMA Award for Video of the Year. In the song, Jones sings of the irreplaceability of country music legends, including

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, soul, and gospe ...

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

and

Lefty Frizzell William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975) was an American country music singer-songwriter and honky-tonk singer. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982. Frizzell released many songs that charted ...

. The music video, which was directed by Marc Ball, takes place at a roadside gas station, where the owner shares with Jones his extensive collection of albums and

memorabilia A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

from classic country music artists. It was the singer's first music video and featured him looking healthier than he had in years. Jones' producer Billy Sherrill appears at the beginning of the video playing the bus driver. At the end of the video, the driver of the Cadillac with bullhorns is James Morgan, he was the owner of the car, along with his wife Judy morgan they also created the nostalgic set for this video. James Morgan was a fixture on the 1980s Nashville music scene. Music executive Rick Blackburn is the man in the passenger seat of the Cadillac. As Bob Allen writes in his book ''George Jones: The Life and Times of a Honky Tonk Legend'', the song "struck a strong enough chord of empathy with old-time country music lovers to end up number three in ''Billboard''. The album produced two other hit singles: the concert favorite "The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song)", which also went to number 3, and the down-and-out

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ( tack piano ...

"cheatin and drinkin' song" "Somebody Wants Me Out Of The Way", which peaked at number 9. ''Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes'' also features a couple of duets with

Lynn Anderson Lynn Renée Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, "Rose Garden," was a number one hit in the United States and internationally. She chart ...

and Lacy J. Dalton. Jones was promoting the album when he appeared at the inaugural

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benefit in 1985.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

George Jones' Official WebsiteRecord Label
George Jones albums 1985 albums Albums produced by Billy Sherrill Epic Records albums {{1980s-country-album-stub