Genre
Country and countrypolitan. Lush string arrangements framing Jones's unmatched baritone in a concentrated programme of heartbreak and loss, moving between devastating ballads and occasional honky-tonk uptempo numbers.
Release
Released in August 1974 by Epic Records. I
Production
Produced by Billy Sherrill, whose countrypolitan vision shaped Jones's most celebrated Epic recordings. Backing vocals were provided by the Jordanaires. Engineers were Lou Bradley and Ron Reynolds. Recorded in January 1974 at Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.
Reception
The album peaked
at number eleven on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The title track —
written by Norro Wilson, Carmol Taylor, and George Richey — reached number one
on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in August 1974 and was the
fourth-biggest country hit of the year, crossing over to some adult pop radio
stations. The second single, "Once You've Had the Best," reached
number three. Rolling Stone ranked the title track among the 40 saddest country
songs of all time in 2014, at number 38. Country music historian Bill C. Malone
called it "one of the great modern songs of divorce."
George Jones
George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931, Saratoga, Texas – April 26, 2013, Nashville, Tennessee) was an American country singer and songwriter widely regarded as the greatest pure vocalist in the history of country music. He began recording in 1954 and scored his first number one with "White Lightning" in 1959. Over a career spanning six decades he accumulated 166 charted singles, of which thirteen reached number one; his partnership with Tammy Wynette — to whom he was married from 1969 to 1975 — produced some of the most celebrated duets in the genre's history. His signature song, "He Stopped Loving Her Today" (1980), is consistently voted the greatest country song ever recorded. His struggles with alcoholism — which earned him the nickname "No-Show Jones" — were as legendary as his talent. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
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