1980 Hit Ranked 'Best Country Song Of All Time'

According to a ranking collated by TheTopTens, 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' by George Jones is the greatest country song ever recorded.

The song was written by Bobby Braddock and Carly Putman and released by Jones as the lead single from his 1980 album I Am What I Am. The song details a man who spends his life in love with a woman who left him and only stops loving her when he dies.

'He Stopped Loving Her Today' Is A Classic American Country Song

While songs like 'Ring of Fire' by Johnny Cash and 'Song of the South' by Alabama are generally more well-known by casual audiences, Jones' song deserves to be called the "greatest" simply because of how much influence it's had over the country genre as a whole.

'He Stopped Loving Her Today' is an incredibly simple, traditional country song that leans on stripped-back, acoustic guitars and melodic singing to pay homage to the country legends who popularized the genre many years prior. It feels like a very sharp, concise celebration of country music as a whole, with its sentimental lyrics that tell a short, linear story without too much instrumental embellishing.

In 2008, the song was preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry, which honors the most culturally significant songs in American music history. It was also ranked #142 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

'He Stopped Loving Her Today' was a massive hit for George Jones, whose career had been on a downward spiral following his public divorce from Tammy Wynette and subsequent drug abuse problems. The song was met with immediate acclaim from both critics and general audiences, rising to #1 on Billboard's U.S. Hot Country Songs upon its release.

"This song meets and exceeds the criteria for being rated the best," one comment on TheTopTens reads. "There's a number of beautiful and sad country songs but this one has always brought tears to my eyes."

"Absolutely no question about it," writes another. "THE best country song. Maybe the best song period, ever written."