Anniversary – 10 Years of Hits is an album by American
country music artist
George Jones released on October 30, 1982, on the
Epic Records label. It went
gold in
1989. The CD edition was issued in 1990.
Background
Although Jones's pre-Epic recordings had been repackaged and compiled countless times, Anniversary - 10 Years of Hits was the first comprehensive collection of the singer's biggest hits with the label. It contains all of his number one hits with Epic over the previous decade: "
The Grand Tour" (1974), "
The Door" (1975), "
He Stopped Loving Her Today" (1980), and "
Still Doin' Time" (1981). The set does not contain his chart toppers with ex-wife
Tammy Wynette from the period (1973's "
We're Gonna Hold On", 1976's "
Golden Ring", and 1977's "
Near You"). For many casual country fans, this would be the only Jones album that they owned. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of
AllMusic observes: "What makes Anniversary transcendent, one of the best country albums of all time, is the context and subtext, how it reads like an
autobiography of the most turbulent, heartbreaking decade in Jones' life." It went gold in 1989 and a
CD edition was issued in 1990. All the songs are produced by
Billy Sherrill.
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