The recording session for George Jones‘ classic song “He Stopped Loving Her Today” is so iconic, there’s an entire book about it. Jones showed up at Nashville’s Studio B and set about creating what would become his definitive song.
Documenting the breakdown of a man after his relationship ends, the song eventually reveals the heartbreaking reason he finally “stopped loving her today.” It’s hard to imagine anyone comes away from listening with dry eyes, especially with Jones’s voice delivering the aching lyrics.
The song remains one of the highlights of country music history. It gathered awards – including CMA Awards for Song of the Year and a Grammy for best male vocal performance. After its release, and in 2009, it was chosen for the Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board’s selections.
But “He Stopped Loving Her Today”, written by songwriters Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman, might never have been recorded, if not for an unlikely set of events.
