Watch George Jones Perform “He Stopped Loving Her Today” to an Adoring Crowd in Tennessee

George Jones saw most of his success in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. However, after a period of decline, he came back strong in the early ‘80s. He kicked off the decade with a string of top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Unfortunately, his chart performance started to wane in the final years of the decade.

Despite the ups and downs of Jones’ career, he maintained a massive and devoted fanbase. Today, more than a decade after his death, he continues to be hailed as the greatest country singer to ever live. For instance, he wasn’t seeing much chart success in the early ‘90s. However, he was still packing venues. Below, you can see him performing one of his signature songs, “He Stopped Loving Her Today” to a packed Knoxville Civic Coliseum.

Videos by American Songwriter

[RELATED: 3 Hit Country Songs That George Jones Did First (And Better)]

To illustrate how much the crowd loved Jones and his music, it’s hard to hear the opening lines of the song over the cheers of the crowd.

George Jones Records Live with the Possum in Knoxville, Tennessee

On May 21, 1993, George Jones and the Jones Boys took the stage at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. That night, he recorded a concert film as well as a live album. The film, Live in Tennessee came out in 1994. The album, Live with the Possum dropped in 1999. It was his second and final album with Asylum Records.

The album and film included some of the biggest songs of Jones’ career. “The Race Is On,” “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes,” “The Grand Tour,” and “He Stopped Loving Her Today” were among the songs he played. Additionally, those who looked up to Jones joined him onstage that night. Alan Jackson provided an introduction for the show. Additionally, Mark Chesnutt and Tracy Lawrence joined Jones for “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair” to close the show.

Jones Almost Didn’t Record “He Stopped Loving Her Today”

“He Stopped Loving Her Today” was one of the biggest songs of George Jones’ career. It was a No. 1 hit and brought him wins at the CMA and Grammy Awards. However, he almost passed on the song.

Jones didn’t think the song would be a hit and told his longtime producer Billy Sherrill about it. “I looked Billy square in the eye and said, ‘Nobody will buy that morbid son of a b—ch,” Jones once recalled.

Featured Image by Shutterstock