During a show in Alabama, right in the middle of the band’s performance, George Jones suddenly stopped singing. He looked down at the audience, where a middle-aged man was holding a sign that read, “Dad loved ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today.’” George set his microphone down, stepped toward the edge of the stage, and softly said, “Then let’s sing it for him.” The entire room fell silent. When he reached the final line, the man broke down in tears. George didn’t say another word — he simply nodded. It was no longer a concert. It was a farewell.
It happened one humid night in Alabama, sometime in the twilight of George Jones’s long and storied career. The crowd had come expecting a classic set — the heartbreak anthems,…