Rear-view Mirror: George Jones and his country song that everyone loved but him

Every week Rich Terfry looks back in our Rear-view Mirror at a great song from the good ol’ days.

In 1980, George Jones recorded what is regarded by many as the greatest country song of all time: "He Stopped Loving Her Today."

The song was huge. It went to number one on the charts, it was big seller, it re-established George Jones as a superstar and earned him a Grammy award. Everyone loved it, except George Jones.

"He Stopped Loving Her Today" was written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman, two legendary Nashville songwriting powerhouses.

When "He Stopped Loving Her Today" was presented to George Jones, he hated it. According to producer Billy Sherrill, "he thought it was too long, too sad, too depressing and that nobody would ever play it.... He hated the melody and wouldn't learn it."

The song is about a man who loved the woman who left him so much, it killed him. He held tight to the hope she would come back to him one day and when she finally did, it was to attend his funeral.

Jones was in rough shape at the time. His career was in decline and his body and mind were wrecked from years of alcohol and substance abuse.

Due to Jones' rough and sometimes unpredictable condition, the recording was an 18 month ordeal. When it was finally finished, Jones said, "Nobody'll buy that morbid son of a bitch" and walked out the door.

But people did buy it. A lot of people.

Years later, in his autobiography, Jones wrote, "I was back on top. Just that quickly. I don't want to belabor this comparison, but a four-decade career had been salvaged by a three-minute song.”

A country masterpiece recorded by a reluctant genius: "He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones.

Listen to the full version of Rear-View Mirror by clicking the play button below.

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Here are some other great editions of Rear-view Mirror:

Bruce Springsteen "Born in the USA"

The Beatles "With A Little Help From My Friends"

Rolling Stones 'Miss You'

The Coasters 'Run Red Run'

Elvis Costello, 'Alison'

James Brown, 'Hot (I Need to be loved loved loved)'

Inner Circle, 'Tenement Yard'

Ray Charles, 'I Don't Need No Doctor'

Curtis Mayfield, 'Freddy's Dead'

Gang Starr, 'Beyond Comprehension'

Bo Diddley, 'Bo Diddley'

Aretha Franklin, 'Rocksteady'

CCR, 'Have You Ever Seen the Rain'

Howlin' Wolf, 'Smokestack Lightning'

Bobby Womack, 'Across 110th Street'

Roy Orbison, 'In Dreams'

Foggy Hogtown Boys, 'Man of Constant Sorrow'

Pink Floyd, 'Wish You Were Here'

Neil Young, 'Cortez The Killer'

Bob Dylan, 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'

Little Eva, 'Loco-Motion'

Elvis Costello, 'Watching the Detectives'

Jimmy Cliff, 'The Harder They Come'

The Verve, 'Bittersweet Symphony'

Roberta Flack, 'Killing Me Softly with his Song'

R.E.M., 'Radio Free Europe'

Radiohead, 'No Surprises'

Led Zeppelin, 'Ramble On'

Glen Campbell, 'Wichita Lineman'

Rolling Stones, 'Beast of Burden'

John Cougar Mellencamp, 'Pink Houses'