George Jones still singing 'story of our life'

On how he felt receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Kennedy Center: "I was worried to start with. I thought, 'My Lord, I'll be up there with all those stuffed shirts. I'll feel plumb out of place. I'm just an old country boy.' But I relaxed and met the other honorees and thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't talk that much with Barbra Streisand, but I did with her husband. And I had a ball talking with The Who [Peter Townsend and Roger Daltrey]. They're real nice people."

On how he got his nickname, Possum: "I've played a lot of possum in my lifetime. But the name comes from a disc jockey. I had an album out that had a side view of me on it with a burr haircut. My nose looked a little turned up and I had little beady eyes."

Was he offended? "A little at first. My wife at the time [Tammy Wynette] was more offended than I was. I told her, 'You can be as mad as you want, but I do look like a possum,' and that made her madder."

Is there any mystery meat in his line of George Jones sausage? "It's pure pork — no possum."

Did he get into any scrapes playing Atlanta in his wilder days: "I probably did — I can't really remember. But I'll tell you, we've cleaned up all that in the past 11 or 12 years. We don't drink, we don't smoke. All that's in the past."

On dealing with his "No Show" Jones reputation for the performances he missed when he was carrying on: "I had to live with it. I missed a few dates all right, but not nearly as many as everybody says. It kind of got out of hand. But it bothers me even today. I have visions of little old ladies, poor people like I was when I was a kid, maybe some of them so poor they had to walk dirt roads, and they saved money to get tickets to come see me, and when they got there, I wasn't there. That part bothers me more than anything."

On still touring at 77: "It's a miracle I'm still alive. It took me a long time to grow up."

On his brief foray into rock 'n' roll as a young man: "All that crap came out of one session. I did a song called 'Dadgummit, How Come It.' They called me Rock 'n' Roll Jones or Thumper Jones, or something. I did it because I was hungry."

Does he ever get tired of singing sad country ballads? "I communicate my best with sad songs. I love 'em. When things ain't going good, like the economy now, that's when country music is at its best. Traditional country music is about the working man. It's American music, the story of our life."

On his favorite country singers: "Hank Williams was my favorite as a kid. And Roy Acuff. And Lefty Frizzell. And then Merle Haggard came along and wiped them all out."

On his song about the legends of country, "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" — who's going to fill his shoes? "I don't think anyone can fill the shoes of any of the artists who became legends. The only thing they can do is sort of walk along beside you someday."