From his first chart entry with “Why Baby Why” in October 1955 until his final appearance on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs as a featured artist on Aaron Lewis’ “Country Boy” two years ago, George Jones distinguished himself as a peerless force with 166 charted songs–Eddy Arnold has the second-most with 144. Jones has the third-most top 10s (78), outpaced only by Arnold’s 92 and George Strait’s 85. Jones’ top 10 count includes 13 No. 1s, among those “He Stopped Loving Her Today” (1980), which re-enters Hot Country Songs at No. 21 (see page 58). Jones was also present and accounted for on the inaugural Top Country Albums chart in 1964, placing a total of 97 titles on that list including 32 top 10s and a pair of No. 1s. Released in 1970, his best-selling Nielsen SoundScan-era album, “The Best of George Jones, Vol. 1,” has sold 2.3 million since May 1991, followed by “16 Biggest Hits” (1999 release, 1.2 million) and “Walls Can Fall” (1992, 655,000). “He Stopped Loving Her Today” is Jones’ top-selling digital single with 450,000 downloads, followed by “Finally Friday” (1992, 116,000) and “White Lightning” (1959, 113,000).
