George Jones certainly had his ups and downs throughout his long and storied career. Beginning in 1954, Jones would continue recording through 2005, and performing live right up until his death at the age of 81 in 2013. He had a severe drinking problem which left him virtually incapacitated by the late 70's (it included an inability to appear at his own concerts, which earned him the not so endearing nickname of "No Show Jones"), but managed to eventually conquer his alcoholism (more or less) and finish out his career as a legend. For his career, Jones released 87 studio albums, 3 live albums, 43 compilation records, and eight tribute LPs. He recorded over 900 songs, 150 of which would hit the country charts, 13 of them reaching #1. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992, was a Kennedy Honors recipient, won several Grammy Awards, and was voted #43 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All-Time. His legion of fans included stars from Frank Sinatra to Keith Richards to Elvis Costello (who had a hit in the U.K. with a cover of Jones' "A Good Year for the Roses").
Fun Fact: After Jones had recorded "He Stopped Loving Her Today." he told his producer, Billy Sherrill, "Nobody'll buy that morbid son of a bitch." After a few years, Jones would credit the song with revitalizing a career that most in the music industry had written off for dead because of his drinking problems.
"He Stopped Loving Her Today" was in released in 1980 on Jones' album I Am What I Am (the first album title, I believe, mentioned her on FNJ which is also a direct quote from famed cartoon character Popeye). The single would hit #1 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Country Chart, win a Grammy, and also was listed as song #275 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.
In the annals of popular music, there are many shiny, happy songs..."He Stopped Loving Her Today" is decidedly not one of them. It weaves the tale of a man who just cannot give up the love he has for the woman who would always remain the woman of his dreams until today, the day he died. While Jones initially considered the song morbid, I myself just find it a sad, sad tale of a man whose love will be forever unrequited. The song features some melancholy slide guitar, a little lonesome harmonica, and lush strings, all of which add to its luster. But it's Jones' vocals which make the song a classic, capturing all the pathos of the protagonist's broken heart, as if he himself were singing of the longing he's known since the day their relationship ended. I first heard "He Stopped Her Today" a few years after it was released, and it was one of those songs that I knew right then and there that I was listening to the sound of greatness. A master work by a master singer, a song for the ages.
Liner Notes: "You know she came to see him one last time/Oh, we all wondered if she would/And it kept running through my mind/This time he's over her for good..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee
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