On 6 August 1966, George Jones's album "I'm a People" reached number one on the US country albums chart, replacing the late Jim Reeves's "Distant Drums" at the top. It was the only time in Jones's six-decade career that he topped the country albums chart, despite scoring numerous number one singles, including "White Lightning" in 1959, "The Grand Tour" in 1974, and "He Stopped Loving Her Today" in 1980.

Released on Musicor Records in April 1966, the album blended honky-tonk, novelty numbers, ballads and gospel songs, and featured contributions from other country stars, including two tracks written by Bill Anderson and one by Loretta Lynn. Its title track and lead single, written by Dallas Frazier, reached number six on the country songs chart, while Jones's next two albums peaked at number three and number two respectively, but he never returned to the top of the albums chart again.