Watch Alan and George Strait Pay Tribute To George Jones on the CMAs!

We lost the Possum, George Jones – who is considered one of the greatest country singers ever, if not the greatest country singer ever — earlier this year. Of course, the 2013 CMA Awards paid tribute to the legend, with Alan Jackson and George Strait performing a duet of ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today,’ which is Jones’ most recognizable and beloved song.

Since Jackson and Strait are legends of their generation, it was only fitting that it was they who were chosen to memorialize Jones.

Strait strummed his guitar alongside Jackson and they harmonized beautifully as images of Jones throughout his storied life flashed on the screen behind them. The most poignant was the image of Jones nuzzling with his wife, Nancy.

Brad Paisley introduced the performance by saying that he was proud to have called George a friend, and that we’d have lost the Possum a lot sooner if not for Nancy. If you didn’t reach for a Kleenex at that statement, then surely you did once Jackson and Strait wrappedtheir performance.

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