The Grand Tour (song)
Encyclopedia
"The Grand Tour" is a song made famous by country music
singer George Jones
. Originally released in 1974, the song was the title track to his album released that year.
The song became Jones' sixth No. 1 song (fifth if only solo entries are considered) on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles
chart in August 1974, and was the fourth-biggest hit of the year.http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+Country+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1974
, 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
."
Throughout the song, the lyrics mix the singer's tour of a home that once held many personal, private and happy memories ("Step right up, come on in ...") with foreshadowing
to set the final stop on the stroll - one of the nursery, where the singer's wife "left me without mercy, taking nothing but our baby and my heart." Prior to the clinching end scene, the singer stops at various pieces of furniture, such as an easy chair and their marital bed, to reflect on fond memories of better times.
Malone wrote that "the graphic imagery permits the listener to see both the inside of the abandoned home where love has died and the interior of the narrator's mind."
Songwriter Norro Wilson reflected on the success of "The Grand Tour" in "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits": "As I recall, when George cut that song, it was the most talked-about record he'd had in an awfully long time ... 'The Grand Tour' is one of my proudest moments."
singer Aaron Neville
recorded a cover version of "The Grand Tour". This cover reached No. 38 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks
chart, and No. 90 on the Billboard Hot 100
. It was also Neville's first appearance on the country music charts.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
. Originally released in 1974, the song was the title track to his album released that year.
The song became Jones' sixth No. 1 song (fifth if only solo entries are considered) on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart in August 1974, and was the fourth-biggest hit of the year.http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+Country+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1974
About the song
The song is widely hailed as one of the finest performances in country music history. Genre historian Bill MaloneBill Malone
Bill C. Malone is an American historian specializing in country music and other forms of traditional American music. He is the author of the 1968 book Country Music, U.S.A., the first definitive academic history of country music...
, in his liner notes for Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection
Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection
Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection was a multi-volume set of recordings released by the Smithsonian Institution. Released in 1990, the collection contains 100 tracks deemed to be significantly important to the history of country music....
, called it a "perfect matching of lyrics and performance" and "one of the great modern songs of divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
."
Throughout the song, the lyrics mix the singer's tour of a home that once held many personal, private and happy memories ("Step right up, come on in ...") with foreshadowing
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing or adumbrating is a literary device in which an author indistinctly suggests certain plot developments that might come later in the story.-Repetitive designation and Chekhov's gun:...
to set the final stop on the stroll - one of the nursery, where the singer's wife "left me without mercy, taking nothing but our baby and my heart." Prior to the clinching end scene, the singer stops at various pieces of furniture, such as an easy chair and their marital bed, to reflect on fond memories of better times.
Malone wrote that "the graphic imagery permits the listener to see both the inside of the abandoned home where love has died and the interior of the narrator's mind."
Songwriter Norro Wilson reflected on the success of "The Grand Tour" in "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits": "As I recall, when George cut that song, it was the most talked-about record he'd had in an awfully long time ... 'The Grand Tour' is one of my proudest moments."
Chart performance
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 2 |
Cover versions
In 1993, soul musicSoul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He has had four top-20 hits in the United States along with four platinum-certified albums...
recorded a cover version of "The Grand Tour". This cover reached No. 38 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart, and No. 90 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. It was also Neville's first appearance on the country music charts.