According to his autobiography, Jones became aware of Tammy Wynette because their tours were booked by the same agency. One night he went to her house for supper and while she was fixing the meal, Wynette got into a heated exchange with her husband who called her "a son of a bitch." Jones wrote: "I felt rage fly all over me. I jumped from my chair, put my hands under the dinner table, and flipped it over. Dishes, utensils, and glasses flew in all directions. Tammy's eyes got about as big as the flying dinner plates." Jones professed his love for Wynette on the spot and the couple married three years later.

"The Grand Tour" is widely hailed as one of the finest performances in country music history. Genre historian Bill C. Malone, in his liner notes for Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection, called it a "perfect matching of lyrics and performance" and "one of the great modern songs of divorce".

In 1979, while being treated at Hillcrest Psychiatric Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, doctors warned George, then down to 105 pounds, that he only had a few months to live if he continued his alcohol abuse. Upon his release in January 1980, the first thing he did was pick up a six-pack.

In the 1970s, Melba Montgomery was a successful solo artist in her own right, but she is best remembered for her duet recordings in the 1960s with George Jones and later Charlie Louvin.

When asked to perform a shortened version of "Choices", the singer refused to attend the awards show, offended by the notion that he should have to abbreviate such a personal song.

Jones was presented with his Country Music Hall of Fame award by Randy Travis during the Country Music Association Awards show in September 1992.