On March 6, 1999, George Jones was driving home near Franklin, Tennessee, with a recording of a new song that would soon take on an extraordinary meaning. The song was called “Choices.” Within minutes, a terrible accident would bring George Jones frighteningly close to death.
The country legend was 67 years old. After decades of hard living, personal struggles, and remarkable music, George Jones had been enjoying a more settled period of life. But that Saturday afternoon became a turning point that George Jones would discuss openly for years afterward.
The Song George Jones Wanted His Stepdaughter to Hear
George Jones had recently recorded material for a new album, Cold Hard Truth, produced by Keith Stegall. One recording particularly excited George Jones: “Choices,” a song written by Billy Yates and Mike Curtis about personal decisions and their consequences.
While driving along Highway 96, George Jones was talking to stepdaughter Adina Estes on the telephone. George Jones wanted Adina Estes to hear the recording and was trying to rewind the tape using an unfamiliar audio system in the Lexus SUV.
George Jones later explained that the vehicle was relatively new and that operating the equipment had distracted George Jones from driving. George Jones also acknowledged having consumed alcohol.
George Jones took attention away from the road. The SUV struck a bridge abutment, leaving the singer trapped inside the wreckage.
Emergency workers spent nearly two hours freeing George Jones. A helicopter transported George Jones to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where doctors discovered serious injuries, including a damaged liver, a collapsed lung, and internal bleeding.
A Difficult Recovery in Nashville
The situation was critical. Doctors initially placed George Jones on a ventilator while treating the injuries. Trauma surgeon Virginia Eddy publicly described the survival as remarkable, given the severity of the accident.
Nancy Jones remained closely involved throughout the hospitalization. Fellow country artists reached out with concern, including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Randy Travis, and Faith Hill.
George Jones eventually recovered, although the experience left a lasting impression. George Jones later pleaded guilty to driving while impaired and was ordered to receive alcohol counseling.
In subsequent interviews, George Jones spoke candidly about the accident rather than treating the incident as an amusing chapter in an already colorful life. The crash had consequences that could not be dismissed.
Why “Choices” Became So Personal
The striking part of the story is that “Choices” had already been recorded before the accident. It was not written in response to George Jones nearly losing his life.
When Cold Hard Truth arrived in June 1999, listeners heard George Jones singing about mistakes, accountability, and accepting the consequences of decisions made over a lifetime.
Those themes were familiar territory for George Jones, whose recording career had often reflected personal experience. But the timing gave “Choices” an additional significance that nobody involved in the recording could have anticipated.
George Jones later said the accident convinced George Jones to stop drinking and smoking. In a 2000 interview with the Los Angeles Times, George Jones expressed gratitude for surviving:
“I’m so dern lucky to be alive.”
The Night Alan Jackson Stood Up for George Jones
The story of “Choices” continued at the Country Music Association Awards on September 22, 1999.
The recording was nominated for Single of the Year, but George Jones declined to perform after organizers offered only a shortened portion of the song rather than a complete performance.
Alan Jackson believed the veteran singer deserved better treatment. During Alan Jackson’s scheduled performance of “Pop a Top,” Alan Jackson unexpectedly switched to part of “Choices” as a public tribute to George Jones.
The audience responded with a standing ovation.
George Jones was watching the ceremony from home and later recalled being surprised by Alan Jackson’s gesture. The performance became one of the most remembered moments of that year’s awards show.
In February 2000, “Choices” earned George Jones the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.
The Meaning of a Song That Was Already Recorded
There is no need to invent a death announcement, a hospital-room conversation, or a dramatic final message to make the 1999 accident memorable.
The documented events are compelling enough: George Jones nearly died while trying to play “Choices,” survived a devastating crash, confronted the consequences of drinking and driving, and later received one of country music’s highest honors for that very recording.
For longtime country fans, the song remains closely connected to an extraordinary chapter in George Jones’s life. It was recorded before the accident, but everything that happened afterward gave its familiar message a new and deeply personal weight.