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46 Years Ago, George Jones Released the Career-Saving Hit That Is Carved on His Tombstone
In April of 1980, George Jones released “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” Later that year, it became his first No. 1 in six years and his signature song. More importantly, it breathed new life into his flagging career, kicking off a long string of hit singles that carried him through most of the decade.
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Jones is remembered as the greatest singer in the history of country music. His voice and vocal style have influenced generations of artists. However, his career had peaks and valleys like any other artist. He reached the top of his fame in the late 1960s and early ’70s. Then, as the traditional-sounding country music of the 1970s gave way to the urban cowboy movement and contemporary pop production of the 1980s, his chart performance began to slip. Fans still loved him, but the industry had moved on.
When he released “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” Jones’ last No. 1 single was “The Door,” which topped the chart in 1974. He only had three hit singles in the six years between the two chart-toppers.
After the iconic tear-jerker topped the chart, Jones had a string of hit songs. He scored two more No. 1 singles and sent 12 more to the top 10 between 1980 and 1987. Interestingly, Jones had no desire to record “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” His producer, Billy Sherrill, had to coax him into cutting it.
George Jones Didn’t Want to Record His Career-Saving Hit
Curly Putman and Bobby Braddock wrote “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” and Billy Sherrill started trying to convince George Jones to record it in 1978. However, he had no interest in the song. He believed it was too long and too sad to be a hit. Sherrill believed otherwise.
About the song, Jones famously told Sherrill, “Nobody’ll buy that morbid son of a b**ch.” Fortunately, he was wrong. According to Songfacts, Braddock didn’t have high hopes for the song in the beginning, either.
“I thought it was just an okay song. I didn’t think it was that great a song,” he said. “When the producer, Billy Sherrill, played me George’s recording of it, I went, ‘Wow, this is something really great.’ And I think, in this instance, the artist and the production elevated the song to a place that it wouldn’t have been otherwise.”
The song went to the top of the country chart for a week. Then, it took home Single of the Year at the CMA Awards and won the Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. In November 2025, it was voted the greatest song ever played on the Grand Ole Opry stage.
When Jones died in 2013, his wife of 20 years, Nancy Jones, had “He Stopped Loving Her Today” carved into the legend’s tombstone.
Featured Image by Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images
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