Post by Mallrat on Jul 10, 2011 14:39:51 GMT -5
Georgette Jones Sheds Light on George & Tammy in New Memoir
Posted Jul 9th 2011 12:00PM by Lorie Hollabaugh
Georgette Jones has lived all the heartbreak, pain and drama of a country song as the daughter of country royalty George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Now she shares what it was like keeping up with the Joneses in her new memoir, 'The Three of Us: Growing Up With Tammy and George.'
Georgette shares plenty of stunning revelations in the new book, including her feeling that her stepfather George Richey was indirectly responsible for her mom's death, and that she was estranged from her father for years until her mom's death brought them back together.
Georgette decided to tell her own story after reading a book about her parents that she believed was full of inaccuracies and portrayed Tammy as manipulative and fragile, instead of the strong, giving person Georgette experienced. She also says George has been misrepresented in the press, something she hopes to correct with her book.
Georgette also reveals that Tammy admitted that the kidnapping story concocted in 1978 to account for her bruises was actually a cover-up of George Richey beating her. She alleges her stepfather, who died last year, was definitely abusive to the country legend during their longtime marriage.
"If nothing else it was an emotionally abusive relationship," she asserts. "Also there are some people who witnessed mom saying she didn't want any pain medication, to not give her anymore and Richey would continue to inject her anyway. There were times when she did want it because she was in pain and he refused to give it to her. She did admit to my sister that when all that stuff came out about her being kidnapped in 1978 that she and Richey had had a fight and he had beaten her. He threatened to destroy her life and write a tell-all book so she decided to stay with him ... so he concocted the kidnapping story for PR. In my personal opinion -- I have no legal evidence -- I do think he was indirectly responsible for my mom's death. We found out so many things after my mom died. It's painful to think that my mom lived the kind of life she lived and we didn't understand some of it."
Georgette adds that Richey, Tammy Wynette's fifth husband, "tried very hard to separate mom from her family and friends so he could be the only person she could turn to. I think she felt like she had no choice and it was too difficult to fight."
As the daughter of two huge talents in country music, Georgette admits it definitely took a while to finally decide to pursue her own dream of being a singer. "One reason I hesitated was because those kind of shoes to fill, to me, seemed impossible. I knew it was human nature to compare me. I thought how could I possibly compare to either one of them favorably. But as I got older, I thought I love music too much to want to look back one day and regret not doing everything I could in it. It's my passion and it's what I enjoy."
'The Three of Us: Growing Up With Tammy and George,' which Georgette penned with the help of noted music journalist Patsi Bale Cox, was published early this week by Atria Books.
Posted Jul 9th 2011 12:00PM by Lorie Hollabaugh
Georgette Jones has lived all the heartbreak, pain and drama of a country song as the daughter of country royalty George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Now she shares what it was like keeping up with the Joneses in her new memoir, 'The Three of Us: Growing Up With Tammy and George.'
Georgette shares plenty of stunning revelations in the new book, including her feeling that her stepfather George Richey was indirectly responsible for her mom's death, and that she was estranged from her father for years until her mom's death brought them back together.
Georgette decided to tell her own story after reading a book about her parents that she believed was full of inaccuracies and portrayed Tammy as manipulative and fragile, instead of the strong, giving person Georgette experienced. She also says George has been misrepresented in the press, something she hopes to correct with her book.
Georgette also reveals that Tammy admitted that the kidnapping story concocted in 1978 to account for her bruises was actually a cover-up of George Richey beating her. She alleges her stepfather, who died last year, was definitely abusive to the country legend during their longtime marriage.
"If nothing else it was an emotionally abusive relationship," she asserts. "Also there are some people who witnessed mom saying she didn't want any pain medication, to not give her anymore and Richey would continue to inject her anyway. There were times when she did want it because she was in pain and he refused to give it to her. She did admit to my sister that when all that stuff came out about her being kidnapped in 1978 that she and Richey had had a fight and he had beaten her. He threatened to destroy her life and write a tell-all book so she decided to stay with him ... so he concocted the kidnapping story for PR. In my personal opinion -- I have no legal evidence -- I do think he was indirectly responsible for my mom's death. We found out so many things after my mom died. It's painful to think that my mom lived the kind of life she lived and we didn't understand some of it."
Georgette adds that Richey, Tammy Wynette's fifth husband, "tried very hard to separate mom from her family and friends so he could be the only person she could turn to. I think she felt like she had no choice and it was too difficult to fight."
As the daughter of two huge talents in country music, Georgette admits it definitely took a while to finally decide to pursue her own dream of being a singer. "One reason I hesitated was because those kind of shoes to fill, to me, seemed impossible. I knew it was human nature to compare me. I thought how could I possibly compare to either one of them favorably. But as I got older, I thought I love music too much to want to look back one day and regret not doing everything I could in it. It's my passion and it's what I enjoy."
'The Three of Us: Growing Up With Tammy and George,' which Georgette penned with the help of noted music journalist Patsi Bale Cox, was published early this week by Atria Books.
