Personnel: George Jones (vocals, guitar); Clyde Phillips, Billy Sanford (guitar); Tom Killen (steel guitar); Murrel Counts (fiddle, background vocals); Terry McMillan (harmonica); Kent Goodson (keyboards, background vocals); Ron Gaddis (bass, background vocals); Mark Dunn (drums).

Recorded live at Music Village U.S.A., Hendersonville, Tennessee on October 13, 1984.

Anyone who has ever seen George Jones live knows that there's nothing "studio enhanced" about his awe-inspiring vocals. Jones is every bit as impressive a singer on stage as he is in the studio, a fact demonstrated by 1984's inaccurately titled FIRST TIME LIVE (LIVE AT DANCETOWN USA, on Ace Records, captures a great 1965 George Jones concert).

On FIRST TIME LIVE, Jones puts his band through their paces on such standards as "The Race is On," "You Better Treat Your Man Right," and the show-stopping "He Stopped Loving Her Today." He also sings a medley of hits and performs complete versions of then-recent singles ("Tennessee Whiskey," "I'm Not Ready Yet"). Throughout, his vocals are playful and supple, with Jones dropping from his oaken tenor to a goofy bass and then soaring upward again as if it were the easiest thing in the world.