A frequent George Jones collaborator is suing the late country icon’s widow, Concord Music Group and Cracker Barrel for releasing a long-shelved album without permission.

Earl “Peanutt” Montgomery, who co-wrote 73 songs for Jones, in addition to playing in his band and producing music for him, filed the suit in federal court in Nashville.

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Montgomery claims in his lawsuit that, in the late 1970s, Jones contacted him about an ambitious album idea to collaborate with Roy Acuff’s Smoky Mountain Boys on an album.

Jones wanted Montgomery “to produce and own (the album) as his retirement package for all his years of service and friendship to Mr. Jones,” according to the lawsuit.

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The album was recorded at Doc’s Place Recording Studio, but subsequently shelved as Jones entered into several different recording contracts in the ensuing decades. As producer, Montgomery maintained possession of the original mixed version of the album, but the master tapes were kept in the vault at Doc’s Place, according to the lawsuit.

And despite several attempts to work out a deal with CBS and then Sony Records, the long-lost album “George Jones & the Smoky Mountain Boys” was not released.

After Jones passed away, his widow Nancy Jones entered into an agreement to sell his intellectual property and other assets to Concord, which owns Rounder Records, for a reported $30 million.

Then in 2017, Concord entered into an agreement to release “George Jones & the Smoky Mountain Boys” through Cracker Barrel. The album is also on streaming services, including Spotify.

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Even though Montgomery produced the original recordings, he was not paid for his work or listed in the album’s liner notes. Instead two other executives, who added other musical elements to the version that was ultimately released were credited as executive producer and project supervisor.

“The release further misrepresents the album as lost recordings which were discovered, when in fact recordings were converted by defendant Nancy Jones and ultimately the Concord defendants with full knowledge of (Montgomery’s) ownership,” the lawsuit states.

Montgomery, who claims he is the true owner of the recording, is represented by Franklin-based attorneys Stephen Grauberger and Joseph Rau (no relation to the author of this story).

Staff writer Dave Boucher contributed.

Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 and [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @tnnaterau.

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