[1] In his 1997 autobiography, I Lived To Tell It All, Jones recalls arriving for the recording session under the influence of a great deal of alcohol and the track took approximately 80 takes.
To compound matters, bassist Buddy Killen was reported to have developed blisters from replaying his part dozens of times.
Former Starday president Don Pierce later explained to Jones' biographer Bob Allen, "We tried doing the song again, but it never was as good as it was that first time.
[4] "White Lightning" became Jones' first number-one country hit - with a more convincing rock and roll sound, than the half-hearted rockabilly cuts he had previously recorded.
The song gave Jones, a notorious critic of pop-country crossovers in his later years, the best showing he would ever achieve on Billboard magazine’s pop chart as well, peaking at No.