Dolly Parton has released many classic country songs in her career, but she was also influenced by other country legends who came before her. One of those legends is George Jones, who Parton said made her “favorite country song of all time.”
Dolly Parton said George Jones was her ‘all-time favorite singer’
George Jones was an early country music star who is often regarded as one of the greatest country musicians ever. He gained international fame with songs like “White Lightning,” “Tender Years,” “She Thinks I Still Care,” and “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”
After a long, triumphant career, Jones died in 2013. The country music world mourned his death, including Parton, who called him her “all-time favorite singer.”
“My heart is absolutely broken. George Jones was my all-time favorite singer and one of my favorite people in the world,” Parton said.
Dolly Parton named ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ her favorite country song
There are thousands of options for favorite country song that Dolly Parton could choose from. In an interview with Spotify, the “Jolene” singer didn’t have too much trouble selecting her pick. “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by Jones is Parton’s favorite country song, and she said it “touches every cell in your body” and “in your heart.”
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“To me, that song is so well written, but it touches every cell in your body, in your heart,” Parton explained. “It’s just like he stopped loving her today, they hung that wreath upon the door. He was never going to stop loving her in his lifetime. He had to die. It is so beautiful and, of course, George Jones is my favorite country singer in the world—always was, always will be. Nobody can tell that story like he did. So to me, that is the country classic of all time.”
“He Stopped Loving Her Today” was released in 1980 as the lead single from the album I Am What I Am. The song peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs and is one of Jones’ most acclaimed songs. In 2008, it was preserved in the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress.
Parton regrets not making an album with Jones
Dolly Parton did get a chance to work with her country idol. She performed with Jones in a duet of “The Blues Man,” a cover of the track by Hank Williams Jr. However, Parton still wishes she could have done more with the singer. In an interview with Amazon’s Country Heat Podcast, Parton said her dream collaboration would have been to make an album with Jones and Merle Haggard.
“Oh, yeah. I have a big heartache over the fact that I never did an album with George Jones, who was my favorite singer, and with Merle Haggard,” Parton shared. “Those two guys I really, really wish, and I had a few opportunities to do it, but it just never worked out for somebody’s schedule til it was too late, so I hate that.”
