Showing posts with label He Stopped Loving Her Today. Show all posts
Showing posts with label He Stopped Loving Her Today. Show all posts

Friday, April 26, 2013

George Jones – Top 50 Songs

image from georgejones.com

Farewell to the Possum (nicknamed because of the shape of his nose and facial features). Country singer/songwriter and guitarist George Jones is dead, age 81, from hypoxic respiratory failure. Born on 9/12/1931 in Saratoga, Texas, the man became regarded as one of the greatest country singers of all time (he ranks #6 according to the DMDB). Jones got his start singing on radio stations KTXJ in Jasper, TX, and KRIC in Beaumont, TX. He served in the U.S. Marines from 1950-52 and recorded rockabilly as Thumper Jones and Hank Smith. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1969, the same year he married country singer Tammy Wynette, his third of four wives.

He struggled with alcohol and drug abuse in his life, earning him the nickname “No Show Jones” for missed shows in the late 1970s. One of the famous stories about his alcoholism occurred when second wife, Shirley Corley, hid the car keys to keep him from driving to the liquor store so he hopped on a riding mower instead. However, fourth wife Nancy Sepulvado, to whom he was married from 1983 until his death, is credited with rescuing him from drinking and cocaine.

In honor of the country legend, here are his top 50 songs, according to the DMDB. As always, DMDB lists are determined by creating an aggregate list from multiple other best-of lists and factoring in chart success, sales, airplay, and awards. In addition, 13 George Jones best-of lists were figured into the mix. Also, the number of appearances on 7 different compilations of Jones’ music were factored in.

George Jones: His Top 50 Songs

1. He Stopped Loving Her Today (1980)
2. She Thinks I Still Care (1962)
3. The Grand Tour (1974)
4. White Lightning (1959)
5. Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes (1985)
6. Tender Years (1961)
7. A Good Year for the Roses (1970)
8. A Picture of Me without You (1972)
9. Still Doin’ Time (1981)
10. Why Baby Why (1955)

11. The Window Up Above (1960)
12. I Always Get Lucky with You (1983)
13. The Race Is On (1964)
14. The Door (1974)
15. If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me, Her Memory Will (1981)
16. Golden Ring (with Tammy Wynette, 1976)
17. She’s My Rock (1984)
18. Choices (1999)
19. Tennessee Whiskey (1983)
20. Bartender’s Blues (with James Taylor, 1978)

21. We’re Gonna Hold On (with Tammy Wynette, 1973)
22. The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song) (1985)
23. Color of the Blues (1958)
24. Just One More (1956)
25. Walk Through This World with Me (1967)
26. I’ll Share My World with You (1969)
27. I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair (1992)
28. We Can Make It (1972)
29. Aching Breaking Heart (1962)
30. When the Grass Grows Over Me (1968)

31. You Comb Her Hair (1963)
32. I’m Not Ready Yet (1980)
33. Take Me (1965)
34. Wine Colored Roses (1986)
35. Who Shot Sam (1959)
36. Near You (with Tammy Wynette, 1976)
37. Mr. Fool (1963)
38. Accidentally on Purpose (1960)
39. Love Bug (1965)
40. Yesterday’s Wine (with Merle Haggard, 1982)

41. I’m a People (1966)
42. The King Is Gone (So Are You) (1989)
43. A Girl I Used to Know (1962)
44. As Long As I Live (1968)
45. Once You’ve Had the Best (1973)
46. We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds (with Melba Montgomery, 1963)
47. These Days I Barely Get By (1975)
48. Her Name Is… (1976)
49. I Can’t Get There from Here (1967)
50. What My Woman Can’t Do (1973)

Awards:

Resources and Related Links:
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Saturday, July 5, 1980

George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today” topped the country chart

He Stopped Loving Her Today

George Jones

Writer(s): Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman (see lyrics here)

First Charted: April 12, 1980

Peak: 11 CW (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): 0.52 US

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 18.1 video, 55.11 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

George Jones first hit the country charts in 1955 when he was 24 years old. His career seemingly peaked in the late sixties and early seventies, AC but then he found success with a series of duets with his then-wife Tammy Wynette. By the time 1980’s “He Stopped Loving Her Today” came around, he’d racked up more than one hundred entries on the country charts over a quarter century. It became what the BBC called “the most important song in country music history.” AC

The “classic is about a man who spends decades hoping his true love will return to him, but their reunion doesn’t happen until his funeral.” RS500 Songwriters Bobby Braddock (“D-I-V-O-R-C-E”) and Curly Putman (“Green, Green Grass of Home”) started writing together in 1977 and Braddock says Curly “swears that I brought him an idea about a man who so loved his wife that his love only stopped the day he died.” AC It started out as a joke about how natural someone looked at his funeral. TR

They weren’t impressed with the song and nearly forgot about it. Braddock finally recorded a demo more than 6 months after they wrote it. They didn’t get much response. Only Johnny Russell was interested. He cut it for two labels, but neither recording was released. AC When the song came to Billy Sherrill, he thought it would be a great single for George Jones. AC However, he wanted an additional verse about the woman in the relationship coming to the funeral. TR

He gave that his stamp of approval, but Jones wasn’t impressed, saying “I looked Billy square in they eye and said, ‘Nobobdy will buy that morbid son of a bitch.’” RS500 Sherrill convinced Jones to give it a shot, but the first take fell flat. Then Jones’ ex-wife, Tammy Wynette, came into the studio with her new husband. According to Braddock, “when he sang the song the second time, he never took his eyes off Tammy. It was like he was singing every word just for her.” AC

It was that quality which made Jones such a beloved performance. He “always appeared to feel such great pain that you could hear it when he sang.” AC Braddock said, “George Jones’ performance and Billy Sherrill’s production have a hell of a lot to do with that record becoming a standard.” TR The Academy of Country Music awarded it Single and Song of the Year. Jones said of it, “I was back on top. A four-decade career was salvaged by a three-minute song.” RS500

Resources:

  • AC Ace Collins (1996). The Stories Behind Country Music’s All-Time Greatest 100 Songs. New York, NY; The Berkley Publishing Group. Pages 249-51.
  • TR Tom Roland (1991). The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 261.
  • RS500 Rolling Stone (9/16/2021). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”
  • WK Wikipedia

Related Links:

First posted 10/31/2021; last updated 8/27/2022.

 
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