In a lesser singer's hands, the song might have sounded corny or even comical but Jones' interpretation, buoyed by his brilliant delivery of the line "...first time I'd seen him smile in years", gives it a mournful, gripping realism.

Since 1975, the singer had scored only one top ten LP (1976's Alone Again) so Epic and Sherrill were quick to capitalize on the success of the single in 1980 by getting Jones in the studio to record some brand new songs.

Jones forte had always been the ballad, of course, and his rendition of the Tom T. Hall composition "I'm Not Ready Yet", which like "He Stopped Loving Her Today" includes a recitation, peaked at number 2 on the charts.

The singer even got one of his own songs, "A Hard Act To Follow", on the album, which he wrote with Earl Montgomery, and finally recorded his own version of the country classic "Good Hearted Woman".

There was no information provided in the liner notes on the four bonus tracks added to the 2000 Legacy CD edition other than songwriting credits for three of the four songs, with "Am I Losing Your Memory or Mine?"

The Boston Globe determined that Jones "is unquestionably in top form throughout this work, with effective production by Billy Sherrill which enhances the singer's pure country delivery.