George Glenn Jones was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice and phrasing. For the last two decades of his life, Jones was frequently referred to as "the greatest living country singer", "The Rolls-Royce of Country Music", and had more than 160 chart singles to his name from 1955 until his death in 2013.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1980.
"He Stopped Loving Her Today" is a song recorded by American country music artist George Jones. It has been named in several surveys as the greatest country song of all time. It was released in April 1980 as the lead single from the album I Am What I Am. The song was Jones's first solo No. 1 single in six years. It was written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman. The week after Jones' death in 2013, the song re-entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 21. As of November 13, 2013, the single has sold 521,000 copies in the United States. Since 2008 it has been preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry. The song was ranked no. 142 on Rolling Stone's 2021 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ranking.
I Am What I Am is an album by American country music artist George Jones, released in 1980 on Epic Records label. On July 4, 2000, the CD version was reissued with four previously unreleased bonus tracks on the Legacy Recordings label.
It Don't Get Any Better Than This is an album by American country music singer George Jones released on April 7, 1998, on the MCA Nashville label.
Claude "Curly" Putman Jr. was an American songwriter.
Robert Valentine Braddock is an American country songwriter and record producer. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Braddock has contributed numerous hit songs during more than 40 years in the industry, including 13 number-one hit singles.
Shine On is an album by American country music artist George Jones, released in March 1983 on the Epic Records label.
Golden Ring is the seventh studio album by American country music artists George Jones and Tammy Wynette, released in August 1976 on the Epic Records label. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album chart. The singles "Near You" and "Golden Ring" both reached No. 1 on the Country Singles chart.
Memories of Us is an album by American country music artist George Jones, released in 1975 on the Epic Records label. It peaked at #43 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. It is Jones’ 51st Album Release.
The Grand Tour is an album by the American country music artist George Jones, released in 1974 as his fifth album for Epic Records. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and contained the hit title track, which reached a peak of #1 in August 1974. It is Jones’ 50th Album Release.
Margaret Louise Ebey, known professionally as Margie Singleton, is an American country music singer and songwriter. In the 1960s, she was a popular duet and solo recording artist, working with country stars George Jones and Faron Young. Singleton had her biggest hit with Young called "Keeping Up with the Joneses" in 1964. She managed a successful solo career in the 1960s.
Nothing Ever Hurt Me (Half as Bad as Losing You) is an album by country music artist George Jones released in 1973, on the Epic Records label. It peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. It is Jones’ 48th Album Release.
We Go Together is the first studio album by American country music artists George Jones and Tammy Wynette. This album was released on October 18, 1971 on the Epic Records label. This is Jones' first album with Epic and his then wife Tammy Wynette. This is also Jones' first album with producer Billy Sherrill.
"Golden Ring" is a song written by Bobby Braddock and Rafe Van Hoy, and recorded by American country music singers George Jones and Tammy Wynette. It was released in May 1976 as the first single and title track to their duet album of the same name. It was a number-one hit on the Billboard country chart.
I've Got Something to Say is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1980 on Columbia. Guy Clark, Bill Anderson, Dickey Betts, Kris Kristofferson, Larry Jon Wilson, and George Jones are all featured on this album.
"Ol' Red" is a song written by James "Bo" Bohon, Don Goodman, and Mark Sherrill. The song was originally recorded by George Jones on his 1990 album You Oughta Be Here with Me and covered by Kenny Rogers on his 1993 album If Only My Heart Had a Voice. Rogers' version was released as a single in August 1993. It was later recorded by Blake Shelton, and his version of the song was released in March 2002 as the third and final single from his self-titled debut album. Shelton's rendition was also a Top 20 hit on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, having peaked at number 14.
"Always Late (with Your Kisses)" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Lefty Frizzell. It was the fifth single released from his 1951/1952 album Listen to Lefty. It peaked at number one in 1951 and became his fourth release to hit the top.
The Best of George Jones is an album by American country music artist George Jones. It is notable for including two new songs, including "The Door," which became a #1 country hit. It was released in March 1975.
Greatest Hits is an album by country music artists George Jones and Tammy Wynette. It was the first compilation by Epic Records that collected some of their biggest hits, including the number-one singles "We're Gonna Hold On", "Golden Ring", and "Near You". It is also significant for containing the new song "Southern California", which rose to number five in 1977. Although Jones and Wynette had divorced in 1975, they remained a valuable commercial commodity for Epic, scoring their biggest chart hits after their split. The album peaked at number 23 on the Billboard country albums chart and eventually went Gold in the U.S.
