George Jones is widely recognized as the greatest country singer in history. “He Stopped Loving Her Today” is hailed as one of the best songs the genre has ever produced. So, when he released it in 1980, listeners everywhere were floored by the tear-jerking tune. However, it is more than a beloved hit song. It gave Jones’ career a second wind and became his signature song for the rest of his career.
The video below shows Jones playing “He Stopped Loving Her Today” during a 1993 concert in Knoxville, Tennessee. If there was ever any doubt that it is one of his most popular songs, the clip lays them to rest in its first ten seconds. The crowd is already cheering. Then, he sings the opening line, and the audience reaches a fever pitch. Thirteen years after recording and releasing the song, he still made it look easy.
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George Jones Didn’t Want to Record “He Stopped Loving Her Today”
“He Stopped Loving Her Today” turned George Jones’ career around. At the time, he was in a rut. He hadn’t had a No. 1 hit in six years. His last was the 1974 release, “The Door.” Jones hadn’t cracked the top ten since he released “Bartender’s Blues” in 1977. As the 1970s became the ’80s and tastes changed, he was falling out of favor with newer fans and the country music industry.
“He Stopped Loving Her Today” gave Jones a second wind. It was the first of ten consecutive top 10 hits. Three of those went to No. 1. However, the country legend initially had no interest in recording it.
His longtime producer, Billy Sherrill, tried multiple times to get him to record it. He either refused or sang the song to the melody of Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” Jones famously told Sherrill, “Nobody will buy that morbid son of a b*tch.”
Jones could admit when he was wrong. “To put it simply, I was back on top,” he wrote in his autobiography. “I don’t want to belabor the comparison, but a four-decade career was salvaged by a three-minute song.”
Featured Image by Brian Rasic/Getty Images
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