James Carothers pays tribute to country icon George Jones on Still Country, Still King: A Tribute to George Jones, which he is set to release in September. He is letting Taste of Country readers sample one of the tracks early via this exclusive premiere.

Carothers salutes the musical legacy of the country icon on his new album, which is due on Sept. 7. Carothers' cover of Jones' classic "Sinners and Saints," from his 1999 comeback album, Cold Hard Truth, sticks close to the original, while adding his own spin to the song.

J.B. Rudd, Vip Vipperman and Darryl Worley co-wrote "Sinners and Saints," which was the third track on Jones' 1999 comeback disc. The album followed Jones' arrest for a DUI, and the lead single, "Choices," garnered him the most exposure he'd had at country radio in years.

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"Sinners and Saints" expounds upon the thin line between sin and salvation: "Young ones in the jailhouse sleeping it off / Church folks saying that his soul is lost / Man you shoulda seen him, all the faces turned red / Yep, when the preacher stood up and said / The only thing different in sinners and saints / One is forgiven and the other one ain't," Carothers sings in the chorus.

Carothers comes by his Jones influence honestly. Jones' widow, Nancy, personally hired him for a steady gig at the George Jones in Nashville, where he has played hundreds of shows since 2015. He is still playing shows in Nashville, and plotting his debut on the Grand Ole Opry in 2018.

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