"He Stopped Loving Her Today"
Content[edit]
The song was written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman and tells the story of a man whose lover leaves him. Vowing to love her until he dies, he keeps old letters and photos from their previous romance and hangs on to hope that she would "come back again". Eventually a day comes when the man, in heavily veiled but graphic language, dies—"all dressed up to go away, first time I'd seen him smile in years" (i.e., in his funeral suit with a rictus grin, as molded on corpses) while "they placed a wreath upon his door and soon they'll carry him away" ("they" being the pallbearers). His former lover attends the funeral to pay her respects, something his friends were unsure would happen; they conclude that this is indeed when he, now dead, is no longer in love with her, hence the title of the song.
Critical reception[edit]
The success of "He Stopped Loving Her Today" led CBS Records to renew Jones' recording contract and sparked new interest in the singer. Jones earned the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1980. The Academy of Country Music awarded the song Single of the Year and Song of the Year in 1980. It also became the Country Music Association's Song of the Year in both 1980 and 1981. The song was ranked number 142 by Rolling Stone in its 2021 edition of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[3] and number 4 on its list of the 100 greatest country songs of all time.[9] In 2007, the 1980 release of the song on Epic Records by George Jones was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[10]
The song became so synonymous with Jones that few singers dared to cover it. Jones recorded the song again with producer Keith Stegall for the 2005 album Hits I Missed...And One I Didn't. A recording of Johnny Cash performing the song is featured on the 2003 collection Unearthed and Trent Summar & the New Row Mob recorded it on 2006's Horseshoes & Hand Grenades.
Jones' friend Alan Jackson performed the song during Jones' funeral service at the Grand Ole Opry.[11]