Does it surprise you to know that Dierks Bentley and George Jones are friends? With Dierks' love of traditional country music and respect for the history of the genre, it seems like a natural fit to me. And Dierks readily admits he's learned a lot from The Possum.
This weekend on America's Opry Weekend, Dierks Bentley takes vocal lessons from George Jones: "In country music, being technically good is not what it’s all about. It's really about emotion in your voice and singing through a broken heart. There's a lot of people today that can technically sing really well, but have they had their heart broken, and can you hear that emotion in their voice? Not as many as probably the past. I learned that from George ... went out and got my heart broken a couple of times, just so I could sing halfway, nearly a tenth, a fifth of a percent of how good he can sing. That’s the biggest influence George has had on me."
The 9513 recently posted an interview with George Jones in which George mentions Dierks:
JT: Do you listen to any of these young artists on the radio?
GJ: No ma’am. I listen to Alan Jackson and George Strait. They’re still on the stations. And we like Sugarland too. Most of the new artists, they understand me. We’re good friends. Kenny Chesney is like my son, [along with] Dierks Bentley, and several of ‘em. They know I love traditional music and I know what they have to do. We still all go out and have a steak together; they’re good people and they do good work. It’s just ain’t what I like anymore.
On this weekend's America's Opry Weekend, Dierks is scheduled as an Opry Classic Spotlight: "Walk Through This World With Me (Live),” Dierks Bentley. Here's just a little taste of Dierks performing the song for George's 75th birthday celebration at The Grand Ole Opry on September 12, 2006:
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*Special thanks to Stephanie (DB Congress Historian) and Annie, DBC rep in Kentucky for contributing to this blog!
Awesome! The first time I saw Dierks perform live was at George Jones' 75th birthday celebration at the Grand Ole Opry! I had recently become a DB fan, and that's why we went. (I didn't know it was George's B-day!) The line-up was so great....Joe Nichols, Tanya Tucker, Alison Krauss w/Union Station, Craig Morgan, and lots of others.
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