The importance of many songs has different angles, and no song may have more angles into this list than this song. George Jones had been recording hit songs since the 1950's. But when he recorded this song, it reinvented him and set him on a path that gave him new popularity through the 1980's, when many thought he was through for countless reasons. This brilliant country song was written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman and no other artist could have brought this more to life than Jones. This is a song you have to earn the right to sing, it required someone with some age, some sage, and a ton of hard knocks of their own. It had been many years since Jones had a #1, but this sure was. Many feel this is one of the greatest country songs of all time, and they're right. It has been given every honor a song can by about every musical body there is. But this was not an easy trek as the first few times Jones recorded this, it didn't go well. Jones hated the song, and was sure it was too sad to be a hit. Well, it turned out to be the biggest hit of his incredible career. When Jones died in 2013, this song came back on the charts at #23, with all the new airplay. This song made him a legend (again) to many new country artists and fans of the era, who maybe had not been overly familiar with him, as many thought he was passed his prime. This song is still loved as much as it was then. This is simply a masterpiece of country music. It is stone cold country.
Alan Jackson sings it at Jones' funeral - This Is Perfect!
