With 'He Stopped Loving Her Today,' George Jones Returns From Certain Death

By | September 12, 2020


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George Jones in 1978. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

When George Jones recorded "He Stopped Loving Her Today," he didn't just need a hit -- he needed a lifeline. Like so many country stars, he'd overindulged in the '70s, and on the cusp of the '80s he was in poor health and had trouble even making it to the stage at his own concerts. Yet even at his low point, Jones still had his voice, considered by some country fans to be the sweetest sound ever committed to record. Despite Jones’s damaged reputation throughout the 1970s due to personal battles, he returned stronger than ever thanks to "He Stopped Loving Her Today."  The world forgave Jones’s previous actions and fell in love with the honky-tonk hero all over again.

George Jones Was One Of The Biggest Country Stars Of The '60s

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Source: Billboard

George Jones was born in Saratoga, Texas and climbed to fame during the 1950s as a country star with a musical style heavily inspired by the honky-tonk works of Hank Williams. Jones was raised by a family with a shared love of music who constantly sang and listened to records with one another. As he began his professional career, Jones became recognizable for his finely polished love ballads that were able to grasp onto listeners’ emotions, especially since almost everybody can relate to stories of love and heartbreak. Another crowd-pleaser is backwoods country charm, which Jones brought to the table in the 1959 moonshiner anthem "White Lightning," Jones' first country #1. By the 1960s, his popularity only continued to rise as he established himself as one of the top country performers of the era as he recorded hit after hit, including number two hit “Window Up Above” and chart-topping singles “Tender Years” and "She Still Thinks I Care."