Born in Texas, Jones first heard country music when he was seven, and was given a guitar at the age of nine. He married his first wife, Dorothy Bonvillion, in 1950, and was divorced in 1951. He served in the United States Marine Corps and was discharged in 1953. He married Shirley Ann Corley in 1954. In 1959, Jones recorded "White Lightning", written by J. P. Richardson, which launched his career as a singer. His second marriage ended in divorce in 1968; he married fellow country music singer Tammy Wynette a year later. Years of alcoholism compromised his health and led to his missing many performances, earning him the nickname "No Show Jones". After his divorce from Wynette in 1975, Jones married his fourth wife, Nancy Sepulvado, in 1983 and became sober for good in 1999. Jones died in 2013, aged 81, from hypoxic respiratory failure.
George Jones has been called "The Rolls Royce Of Country Music" and had more than 160 chart singles to his name from 1955 until his death in 2013. Johnny Cash once said, "When people ask me who my favorite country singer is, I say, 'You mean besides George Jones?'"
Jones tirelessly defended the integrity of country music, telling Billboard in 2006, "It's never been for love of money. I thank God for it because it makes me a living. But I sing because I love it, not because of the dollar signs." Jones also went out of his way to promote younger country singers that he felt were as passionate about the music as he was. "Everybody knows he's a great singer," Alan Jackson stated in 1995, "but what I like most about George is that when you meet him, he is like some old guy that works down at the gas station...even though he's a legend!"
Shortly after Jones' death, Andrew Mueller wrote about his influence in Uncut, "He was one of the finest interpretive singers who ever lifted a microphone...There cannot be a single country songwriter of the last 50-odd years who has not wondered what it might be like to hear their words sung by that voice." In an article for The Texas Monthly in 1994, Nick Tosches eloquently described the singer's vocal style: "While he and his idol, Hank Williams, have both affected generations with a plaintive veracity of voice that has set them apart, Jones has an additional gift—a voice of exceptional range, natural elegance, and lucent tone. Gliding toward high tenor, plunging toward deep bass, the magisterial portamento of his onward-coursing baritone emits white-hot sparks and torrents of blue, investing his poison love songs with a tragic gravity and inflaming his celebrations of the honky-tonk ethos with the hellfire of abandon." In the New Republic essay "Why George Jones ranks with Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday," David Hajdu writes:
"Jones had a handsome and strange voice. His singing was always partly about the appeal of the tones he produced, regardless of the meaning of the words. In this sense, Jones had something in common with singers of formal music and opera, though his means of vocal production were radically different from theirs. He sang from the back of his throat, rather than from deep in his diaphragm. He tightened his larynx to squeeze sound out. He clenched his jaw, instead of wriggling it free. He forced wind through his teeth, and the notes sounded weirdly beautiful."
David Cantwell recalled in 2013, "His approach to singing, he told me once, was to call up those memories and feelings of his own that most closely corresponded to those being felt by the character in whatever song he was performing. He was a kind of singing method actor, creating an illusion of the real." In the liner notes to Essential George Jones: The Spirit of Country Rich Kienzle states, "Jones sings of people and stories that are achingly human. He can turn a ballad into a catharsis by wringing every possible emotion from it, making it a primal, strangled cry of anguish". In 1994, country music historian Colin Escott pronounced, "Contemporary country music is virtually founded on reverence for George Jones. Walk through a room of country singers and conduct a quick poll, George nearly always tops it." In the wake of Jones's death, Merle Haggard pronounced in Rolling Stone, "His voice was like a Stradivarius violin: one of the greatest instruments ever made." Emmylou Harris wrote, "when you hear George Jones sing, you are hearing a man who takes a song and makes it a work of art - always," a quote that appeared on the sleeve of Jones' 1976 album The Battle. In the documentary Same Ole Me, several country music stars offer similar thoughts. Randy Travis: "It sounds like he's lived every minute of every word that he sings and there's very few people who can do that"; Tom T. Hall: "It was always Jones who got the message across just right"; and Roy Acuff: "I'd give anything if I could sing like George Jones". In the same film, producer Billy Sherrill states, "All I did was change the instrumentation around him. I don't think he's changed at all."
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed George Jones among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
He Stopped Loving Her Today
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
But he still loved her through it all
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
(Ooh)
You know, she came to see him one last time (ooh)
Ah, and we all wondered if she would (ooh)
And it kept runnin' through my mind (ooh)
"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 lyrics to George Jones's "He Stopped Loving Her Today" tells the story of a man who never got over the love of his life. Despite her telling him that he would eventually forget her and move on, the man continued to hold on to her memory for years to come. He kept a picture of her on his wall, letters from her bedside, and even underlined all the times she said "I love you" in red ink. Even though he would go through periods of feeling insane, he still held on to the hope that she would come back to him.
As the story goes, the man eventually passes away still holding onto love for this woman. It is not until the end of the song when it is revealed that the woman had come to see him one last time. The lyrics are incredibly powerful and evoke strong emotions of heartbreak, longing, and a never-ending love. Jones's exquisite voice brings the lyrics to life and conveys the emotion behind the words.
One of the most interesting facts about "He Stopped Loving Her Today" is that it was initially rejected by numerous record labels before finally being recorded by Jones in 1980. The song quickly became a massive hit and went on to be considered one of his greatest works. Additionally, the song's writer, Bobby Braddock, was initially hesitant to allow Jones to record the song due to the country legend's reputation for missing studio sessions and abusing alcohol. However, Braddock ultimately acquiesced, and the resulting song went on to become one of the most successful hits of Jones's career.
Line by Line Meaning
He said, 'I'll love you till I die'
He promised to love her forever
She told him, 'You'll forget in time'
She didn't believe his promise and thought he would move on
As the years went slowly by
Time passed and they went their separate ways
She still preyed upon his mind
He couldn't stop thinking about her
He kept her picture on his wall
He held onto their memories and cherished her image
Went half crazy now and then
He struggled with his emotions and sometimes lost control
But he still loved her through it all
Despite the pain, he never stopped loving her
Hoping she'd come back again
He longed for her return
Kept some letters by his bed
He held onto the written expressions of her love
Dated 1962
He treasured these letters from a time long ago
He had underlined in red
To emphasize the significance of her love
Every single, 'I love you'
Each declaration of her love was precious to him
I went to see him just today
A visit to see how he was doing
Oh, but I didn't see no tears
Despite his sadness, no tears were visible
All dressed up to go away
Ready to leave this world behind
First time I'd seen him smile in years
Finally at peace, free from the burden of his love
He stopped loving her today
He no longer loves her
They placed a wreath upon his door
Mourners paid their respects with a wreath
And soon they'll carry him away
He will be taken from this world
You know, she came to see him one last time
She visited him in his final days
Ah, and we all wondered if she would
Everyone wondered if she still cared for him
And it kept runnin' through my mind
The thought wouldn't leave his head
'This time he's over her for good'
He finally let go of his love for her and moved on
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bobby Braddock, Curly Putman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind