The great George Jones went by many names.
The “Rolls Royce” of country music. The “Possum” due to his nose and facial features (probably not his preferred nickname), and in the later part of his career was considered the great living country singer.
George Jones attained international stardom thanks to his iconic voice and signature song writing. His lustrous musical career led to two Grammy awards, a spot in the country music hall of fame, and multiple number one hits.
Jones’ best known song is “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” which happens to also be released on this date in 1980, 18 years after the release of this country classic “She Thinks I Still Care.”
The 1962 song was the third number one country hit for the George Jones, with his first two hits being “White Lightning” in 1959 and “Tender Years” in 1961.
The classic country track has been covered by other musical greats such as Merle Haggard, Elvis Presley, and Glen Campbell. Haggard included the the song on his LP A Portrait of Merle Haggard which released in 1969, while Campbell covered the song in 1972 and “The King of Rock and Roll” in 1977.
However, nothing can match the personal, flowing vocals of George Jones singing the song himself.
Watch this vintage performance from George Jones performing “She Thinks I Still Care” on That Good Old Nashville Music:
The song is short and to the point, but Jones still manages to articulate quite the emotional story. Past relationships can often linger following their breaking points, and the country legend encapsulates that feeling perfectly. The lyrics sing:
“But if she’s happy thinking I still need her
Then let that silly notion bring her cheer
But how could she ever be so foolish
Oh where would she get such an idea
Just because I ask a friend about her
And just because I spoke her name somewhere
Just because I saw her then went all to pieces
She thinks I still care, she thinks I still care…”
As always, George Jones nailed it, and the song still holds up over 60 years later.
Just in case you were wanting a little more from country music’s “Possum” (goodness, that sounds terrible, no way he was on board with it), here is a video of his most well known country hit “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”
I watched a couple of different versions of the song, but I chose to link this one because of his rocking sunglasses choice for the performance:
