The legendary George Jones is back at the Ryman, just in time for CMA Fest 2025.
On Tuesday the iconic Nashville venue unveiled a life-sized bronze statue of Jones as part of its Icon Walk. It joins likenesses outside the Ryman of Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, Little Jimmy Dickens and Bill Monroe.
It was Jones’ widow, Nancy, who chose to depict her late husband in his 60s, because “I think that’s what he would’ve wanted,” she told People.
“I wish he could have worked here every weekend because it was the only place he never got drunk. It was like, ‘That’s the Mother Church of Country Music, and you don’t drink there,’” she said, referencing a tendency that earned him the nickname “No Show Jones.”
The Country Music Hall of Famer passed in 2013 at the age of 81.