Released May 8, 1999 Genre Country Label Asylum | Format CD Length 3:23 | |
Writer(s) Mike Curtis
Billy Yates | ||
"Choices" is a Grammy-award winning country music song written by Billy Yates and Mike Curtis, first recorded by Yates on his 1997 self-titled album for Almo Sounds. It was later covered by George Jones, who released as the first single from his album The Cold Hard Truth on May 8, 1999, and it peaked at number 30 on the Billboard country charts.
Background
After recording five studio albums for MCA Nashville between 1991 and 1998, Jones signed with Asylum and released the single "Choices." The music video, which features photographs of the singer throughout his life, had a more gripping resonance in light of Jones's March 1999 drunk driving accident with lines like, "Now I'm living and dying with the choices I've made." Radio stations began receiving calls to hear it and the song eventually reached the Top 30 and won Jones the Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. The song was at the center of controversy when the Country Music Association invited Jones to perform it on the awards show, but required that he perform an abridged version. Jones refused and did not attend the show. Alan Jackson was disappointed with the association's decision, and halfway through his own performance during the show, he signalled to his band and played part of Jones' song in protest.
Canadian singer Leonard Cohen, a George Jones fan, released a version of the song on the 2015 LP Can't Forget. The day Jones died in 2013, Cohen performed "Choices" on stage in Winnipeg, Canada as a tribute to the country legend.