East Texas has always been a great place for spawning the best country singers of all time. It was the birthplace of Aubrey 'Moon' Mullican, Lefty Frizzell, Jim Reeves and many many others. George Jones is another of its many products and this man - along with Jerry Lee Lewis - gets my vote for being the greatest living country singer. Jones is the real thing and has a style that is totally original. His blues based phrasing and country and gospel emotions make him the greatest pure country singer of this era. Many modern day country singers have tried to emulate Jones but nobody can even hope to come close to Jones who is the real deal to use one of his song titles. Influenced by Bill Monroe, Moon Mullican, Floyd Tillman, Hank Williams and other honky tonk, western swing and bluegrass singers, Jones fused Texan swing with Mountain soul for all eternity.