George Jones Makes Peace With His Nicknames

When you think of George Jones, several things come to mind: classic country hit maker, multiple industry award winner, ex-husband of the late Tammy Wynette, and, of course, those nicknames: 'The Possum' and 'No Show Jones.'

"When you're called 'The Possum' ... it stays with me. There's no way I can ever live it down," George tells The Boot with a laugh. "T. Tommy Cutrer was a disc jockey. Everybody loved him. He was one of the old-timers on the all-night shows along with Ralph Emery, and those two got started calling me 'The Possum.'

"I had an album out with a side view of me with a crew cut. I was very young, and my nose looked more turned up, and I've got little beady eyes so I guess I did look like a possum! So they both laid into me and called me 'Possum,' and it got everywhere. There was no way I could stop that, so (I thought) I'll just have to live with that!"

source: http://www.theboot.com