Country music star and art inspiration George Jones once said one hit song saved 40 years of his career after he found himself at the “lowest point” of his life.
Jones began performing music as a child and built a foundation that led him to legendary status. However, after his highly publicized third divorce, he felt it all slipping away. That was until he recorded a “morbid” song he didn’t expect his fans to enjoy.
George Jones said the days before his first hit song were ‘rough’
Jones spoke to NPR’s Fresh Air in 1996 after publishing his autobiography I Lived to Tell It All, in which he reflected on his career. He started performing as a child in his church in Texas and moved on to playing in roadhouses as a teen.
Jones married for the first time at 17, divorced soon after, and eventually joined the Marines to avoid returning to jail. When he came back home, he started recording music and remarried. “I went into the studio the first time, and we didn’t do all that good until ’56, I think, or ’55,” he told NPR. “We lucked up with a tune called ‘Why Baby Why,’ and then we moved on to Nashville …”
Jones topped the country charts with “White Lightning” by the decade’s end, and the ’60s brought about more musical success. However, his second marriage ended, and he married Tammy Wynette in 1969.
He said that their famous 1975 divorce left him at “one of the lowest points” of his life” from drinking so much,” noting, “This was what led to — a lot to the cause of the divorce — and you know most of the story after that.”
George Jones said ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ was a 3-minute song that put him ‘back on top’
Jones didn’t think anyone would enjoy the “morbid” song about a man who loves an ex until he dies. But that wasn’t the case. He wrote in his autobiography, “To put it simply, I was back on top.”
“Just that quickly,” he added (per American Songwriter.) “I don’t want to belabor this comparison, but a four-decade career was salvaged by a three-minute song.”
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Jones spoke to NPR about the process of recording the hit, “I [kept] telling them that the lady had to come back, you know, the girl had to come back one way or the other, either to see him or come to his funeral or something.”
That’s where the recitation comes in, explaining, “You know, she came to see him one last time / Ah, and we all wondered if she would / And it kept running through my mind / This time he’s over her for good.”
Some people have drawn comparisons to the man in the song and Jones, implying he would carry his love for Wynette until he died. But he said they were friends until the end.
George Jones said 1 famous part of his reputation was just a managerial misunderstanding
Jones also spoke to NPR about his nickname, “No Show Jones,” and said it was all blown out of proportion. “I missed a few dates back when I was doing a little bit too much of my drinking. And later on, I got into drugs …, but I didn’t really miss as many dates as it’s been built up to be,” he said.
According to Jones, his management at the time was booking too many dates. He claimed they would schedule “several” shows on the same date and take the advances, knowing he would take the blame and they’d keep the money.
“So I wound up with so many lawsuits that I didn’t know what to do with,” he concluded. “[I] finally got it all straightened out, though, thank goodness, and we don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
