With 'He Stopped Loving Her Today,' George Jones Returns From Certain Death
By | September 12, 2020
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
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."
George Jones' Addiction to Drugs And Alcohol Ruin His Reputation
Unfortunately, Jones’s career took a tragic turn during the 1970s when his personal issues meddled into his professional life. By this decade, Jones had already experienced multiple divorces with the latest being to country star Tammy Wynette, with whom he shared children and many duets together. Similar to many of the other country legends of the time, Jones turned to the heavy use of drugs and alcohol to numb his pain. The severe substance abuse he put himself through steered his career into the opposite direction it had been heading.
'No Show' Jones
Jones became unreliable and unpredictable, often disappearing for days. There were multiple cases where he didn’t even show up for scheduled concerts and recording sessions, which upset fans and those working for him. His tendencies earned him the undesirable nickname "No Show Jones." His reputation was essentially ruined as people refused to work with him or even listen to his music at this time. His recent singles and albums were commercial failures, especially when compared to his massive hits of the previous decades. Along with his professional demise, his body was in jeopardy as well when his frequent cocaine use led to an unhealthy amount of weight loss.
'He Stopped Loving Her Today' Saved George Jones
Despite seeming to be a complete lost cause, George Jones managed to reach the limelight once again with just one song. Songwriters Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman wrote a touching tune, "He Stopped Loving Her Today," about a man haunted by his love for an ex. Although it was only a simple three-chord song, He Stopped Loving Her Today was powerful because of its strong emotional appeal. Although his prominence had seriously dwindled, the song was brought to George Jones to record. Little did he know, Jones had made a decision that would save his career.
"He Stopped Loving Her Today" almost wasn’t even recorded because of how difficult the session was for Jones. It was clear Jones had not released a hit in years as it seemed he completely forgot how to record a simple song. He could not remember the true melody and kept confusing it with Kris Kristofferson’s Help Me Make It Through The Night. The spoken word portion of the song was a production mess as Jones continuously slurred his words to the point where one could not even understand what he was speaking. Jones never was able to finish the song in one take, but fortunately Billy Sherrill was a production wizard and spliced together all the best pieces to form one hit song. When it was finished, George Jones admitted he hated the song and told Sherrill "Nobody'll buy that morbid son of a b***h." Jones could not have been more wrong.
Lyrics And Meaning Of 'He Stopped Loving Her Today'
The man in the song promises his former girlfriend that he'll love her until the day he dies; she brushes it off, saying he will forget her in time. The man stays true to his word as his love doesn’t end until the day he finally does die, as portrayed through the description of his funeral.
"He Stopped Loving Her Today"
He said, "I'll love you 'til I die"
She told him, "You'll forget in time"
As the years went slowly by
She still preyed upon his mind
He kept her picture on his wall
Went half-crazy, now and then
He still loved her through it all
Hoping she'd come back again
Kept some letters by his bed
Dated 1962
He had underlined in red
Every single 'I love you'
I went to see him just today
Oh, but I didn't see no tears
All dressed up to go away
First time I'd seen him smile in years
He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they'll carry him away
He stopped loving her today
You know, she came to see him one last time
Oh, and we all wondered if she would
And it kept running through my mind
This time he's over her for good
He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they'll carry him away
He stopped loving her today
The funeral imagery might not be apparent on the first or second listen, but the key to the entire song is right there in the first line: "He said 'I'll love you 'til I die.'" While death is an obviously sad event, in this story it is also a merciful release from years of loneliness and unrequited love.
George Jones Kept Going For Three More Decades
"He Stopped Loving Her Today" became a number one hit, Jones' first in six years. In a sudden flash, Jones was back in the spotlight decades after what everyone believed to be his peak years. The song also won Jones a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and a CMA award for Song Of The Year. Along with his professional career, Jones’s personal life was also on the rise when he decided to repent his old ways and to officially get his life back in order. He later admitted that it was the love of his wife Nancy Sepulvado (whom he married in 1983) that saved his life. The rest of his years were spent in success as he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992 and continued to release hits and tour rigorously throughout his final decades. Jones passed away in April 2013 with an extraordinary reputation that had been fixed with the help of one simple love song.