I don’t usually make anything other than passing mention of the death of musical figures, but this one really hurts, per this Tweet from our friend Kathleen Geier:

George Jones, RIP. As a singer, he was, except for Hank Williams, country music’s greatest. More when I blog this w/e

I do look forward to what Kathleen has to say about the Possum at PA this weekend, but for the moment, this is how I feel about the loss of the man whose music so perfectly expressed the shattered dreams of southern white folk:

YouTube video

Gram Parsons called Jones “the king of broken hearts.” Mine is broken by his passing.

Our ideas can save democracy... But we need your help! Donate Now!

Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.