George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today” stands as the quintessential country heartbreak ballad, a masterpiece that saved his flagging career in 1980 despite his initial reluctance to record it, with Jones famously declaring “nobody’ll buy that morbid son of a bitch” before the song went on to become a number one hit, win Grammy and CMA awards, and be consistently ranked as one of the greatest country songs ever written, telling the devastating story of a man who loves a woman until his dying day through Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman’s brilliant lyrics and Billy Sherrill’s lush production, with the song’s emotional power coming from its perfect twist ending where we realize the protagonist has only stopped loving her because he’s passed away, creating a timeless meditation on devotion that transcends genre boundaries and continues to move listeners more than four decades later.
“Scroll down to the end of the article to listen to music.” Introduction “He Stopped Loving Her Today” is widely…