Country music legend George Jones died Friday, April 26, in Nashville, Tennessee.

[jobeterob]

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DeliciousCountry music legend George Jones dies at 81By Todd Leopold, CNN
April 26, 2013 -- Updated 1631 GMT [[0031 HKT)
Country music legend George Jones died Friday, April 26, in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 81. Above: Jones poses for a portrait circa 1975.
Jones poses for a portrait in Nashville circa 1956.
Jones performs with his band on stage for the film, 'From Nashville With Music,' in 1969.
Country singer Tammy Wynette and Jones perform at Countryside Opry in Chicago in October 1980. Wynette and Jones were once married. Jones and Barbara Mandrell pose during the 1991 Academy of Country Music Awards in Los Angeles.
Jones talks with reporters in Nashville before greeting protesters who were rallying in front of WSM Radio studios against radio format changes in January 2002.
Jones performs during Stagecoach, California's Country Music Festival held at the Empire Polo Field in May 2008 in Indio, California.
Twyla Tharp, left, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Barbra Streisand, Morgan Freeman and Jones stand as they are honored during the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors in Washington.

HIDE CAPTION
George Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken hearts<<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >>>STORY HIGHLIGHTS
George Jones, 81, dies at Nashville hospital, public relations firm says
He had been hospitalized since last week with fever and irregular blood pressure
Jones had tumultuous life; years were marked by alcoholism
He recorded "He Stopped Loving Her Today," which many consider greatest country song
[[CNN) -- George Jones, the country music legend whose graceful, evocative voice gave depth to some of the greatest songs in country music -- including "She Thinks I Still Care," "The Grand Tour" and "He Stopped Loving Her Today" -- has died, according to his public relations firm.

Jones, 81, died Friday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, the public relations firm said. He had been hospitalized since April 18 with fever and irregular blood pressure.

Jones' career was marked by a tumultuous marriage to Tammy Wynette and bouts with alcoholism that led to occasional concert cancellations. [[One of his nicknames was "No-Show Jones"; after he got clean, he puckishly used "No-Show" on his license plates.)

But there was no denying his talent. Waylon Jennings once wrote a song that said, "George might show up flyin' high, if George shows up at all / But he may be, unconsciously, the greatest of them all."


1993: George Jones never 'phony' Famous friends chimed in on Twitter after learning of his death.

"My friend, the greatest singer of all time, has passed," Brad Paisley wrote on Twitter. "To those who knew him, our lives were full. To those of you who don't: discover him now."

Jones, nicknamed "The Possum" for his resemblance to the animal, was born in 1931 in east Texas. His early life was marked by poverty and a violent, alcoholic father. Young George taught himself to play guitar, and by the time he was a teenager he was singing on the streets and in the clubs of Beaumont, Texas, not far from his birthplace of Saratoga.

After a quick marriage and service in the Marines, Jones was discovered by Starday Records co-owner Pappy Daily, who guided his early career. His first single, 1954's "No Money in This Deal," failed to chart, but 1955's "Why, Baby, Why" was a hit. By 1959, Jones had moved to Nashville and recorded his first No. 1, "White Lightning."

Though Jones' early hits, such as "Lightning," "The Race Is On" and "Root Beer," were in a high-powered, rockabilly mode, he found his biggest success as a crooner. The mid-'60s were marked by such songs as "Things Have Gone to Pieces" and "A Good Year for the Roses," which highlighted broken or thwarted romance and the kind of longing that suggests late, lonely nights in bars.

It was a life that Jones started knowing all too well.

His second marriage, to Shirley Corley, was marked by frequent benders. Jones recalled one that became legend: He had been drunk for several days, and Corley hid the keys to all of their cars. However, he pointed out, she'd forgotten one vehicle: their lawnmower. They lived eight miles from a liquor store but that didn't stop Jones.

"I imagine the top speed for that old mower was five miles an hour," he recalled in his 1996 memoir, "I Lived to Tell It All." "It might have taken an hour and a half or more for me to get to the liquor store, but get there I did."

Jones and Corley divorced in 1968. A year later, he married Wynette, one of Nashville's biggest names. The two had a number of huge hits as a pair, but the strain of their marriage was indicated in song titles such as "We Can Make It" and "Loving You Can Never Be Better." [[One of Wynette's singles was called "Kids Say the Darnedest Things.")

"By now, the couple's marriage was becoming a public soap opera, with their audience following each single as if they were news reports," wrote CMT.com in its Jones biography.

Wynette filed for divorce in 1973, reconsidered and then filed again two years later. This time it stuck. However, though the pair were divorced, they continued to sing together for years afterward. Wynette died in 1998.

Jones' life went into a tailspin. He started using cocaine and missing shows more frequently, 54 in 1979 alone, according to CMT.com. His weight dropped from 150 to 100 pounds. He entered rehab but left after a month.

And yet, it was at this time he recorded perhaps his greatest song, 1980's "He Stopped Loving Her Today," the tale of a man who continued pining for his lost love many years after she left him. The song, written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putnam, has been voted the greatest country song of all time in a Country Music Magazine poll.

Jones continued to struggle in the early '80s -- once leading police on a car chase in Nashville -- but with the help of his fourth wife, Nancy Sepulvado, he got clean. Though his hit-making slowed down, mainly thanks to changing tastes in country music, he became a revered elder statesman, often credited as an influence by generations that followed. He paid tribute to his own and preceding generations in a 1985 hit, "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes."

Other singers stood up for Jones. At the Country Music Association Awards in 1999, Jones was asked to shorten his hit song "Choices." He refused and boycotted the honors. But at the awards, Alan Jackson cut his own song short and went into "Choices," giving Jones his due.

"Not everybody needs to sound like a George Jones record," Jackson once said in an interview, according to The New York Times. "But that's what I've always done."

His singing remains a model.

"There aren't words in our language to describe the depth of his greatness," Vince Gill said in a statement. "I'll miss my kind and generous friend."

Jones, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, was honored by the Kennedy Center in 2008 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.

[honest man]

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SHARE THIS

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DeliciousCountry music legend George Jones dies at 81By Todd Leopold, CNN
April 26, 2013 -- Updated 1631 GMT [[0031 HKT)
Country music legend George Jones died Friday, April 26, in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 81. Above: Jones poses for a portrait circa 1975.
Jones poses for a portrait in Nashville circa 1956.
Jones performs with his band on stage for the film, 'From Nashville With Music,' in 1969.
Country singer Tammy Wynette and Jones perform at Countryside Opry in Chicago in October 1980. Wynette and Jones were once married. Jones and Barbara Mandrell pose during the 1991 Academy of Country Music Awards in Los Angeles.
Jones talks with reporters in Nashville before greeting protesters who were rallying in front of WSM Radio studios against radio format changes in January 2002.
Jones performs during Stagecoach, California's Country Music Festival held at the Empire Polo Field in May 2008 in Indio, California.
Twyla Tharp, left, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Barbra Streisand, Morgan Freeman and Jones stand as they are honored during the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors in Washington.

HIDE CAPTION
George Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken heartsGeorge Jones: King of broken hearts<<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >>>STORY HIGHLIGHTS
George Jones, 81, dies at Nashville hospital, public relations firm says
He had been hospitalized since last week with fever and irregular blood pressure
Jones had tumultuous life; years were marked by alcoholism
He recorded "He Stopped Loving Her Today," which many consider greatest country song
[[CNN) -- George Jones, the country music legend whose graceful, evocative voice gave depth to some of the greatest songs in country music -- including "She Thinks I Still Care," "The Grand Tour" and "He Stopped Loving Her Today" -- has died, according to his public relations firm.

Jones, 81, died Friday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, the public relations firm said. He had been hospitalized since April 18 with fever and irregular blood pressure.

Jones' career was marked by a tumultuous marriage to Tammy Wynette and bouts with alcoholism that led to occasional concert cancellations. [[One of his nicknames was "No-Show Jones"; after he got clean, he puckishly used "No-Show" on his license plates.)

But there was no denying his talent. Waylon Jennings once wrote a song that said, "George might show up flyin' high, if George shows up at all / But he may be, unconsciously, the greatest of them all."


1993: George Jones never 'phony' Famous friends chimed in on Twitter after learning of his death.

"My friend, the greatest singer of all time, has passed," Brad Paisley wrote on Twitter. "To those who knew him, our lives were full. To those of you who don't: discover him now."

Jones, nicknamed "The Possum" for his resemblance to the animal, was born in 1931 in east Texas. His early life was marked by poverty and a violent, alcoholic father. Young George taught himself to play guitar, and by the time he was a teenager he was singing on the streets and in the clubs of Beaumont, Texas, not far from his birthplace of Saratoga.

After a quick marriage and service in the Marines, Jones was discovered by Starday Records co-owner Pappy Daily, who guided his early career. His first single, 1954's "No Money in This Deal," failed to chart, but 1955's "Why, Baby, Why" was a hit. By 1959, Jones had moved to Nashville and recorded his first No. 1, "White Lightning."

Though Jones' early hits, such as "Lightning," "The Race Is On" and "Root Beer," were in a high-powered, rockabilly mode, he found his biggest success as a crooner. The mid-'60s were marked by such songs as "Things Have Gone to Pieces" and "A Good Year for the Roses," which highlighted broken or thwarted romance and the kind of longing that suggests late, lonely nights in bars.

It was a life that Jones started knowing all too well.

His second marriage, to Shirley Corley, was marked by frequent benders. Jones recalled one that became legend: He had been drunk for several days, and Corley hid the keys to all of their cars. However, he pointed out, she'd forgotten one vehicle: their lawnmower. They lived eight miles from a liquor store but that didn't stop Jones.

"I imagine the top speed for that old mower was five miles an hour," he recalled in his 1996 memoir, "I Lived to Tell It All." "It might have taken an hour and a half or more for me to get to the liquor store, but get there I did."

Jones and Corley divorced in 1968. A year later, he married Wynette, one of Nashville's biggest names. The two had a number of huge hits as a pair, but the strain of their marriage was indicated in song titles such as "We Can Make It" and "Loving You Can Never Be Better." [[One of Wynette's singles was called "Kids Say the Darnedest Things.")

"By now, the couple's marriage was becoming a public soap opera, with their audience following each single as if they were news reports," wrote CMT.com in its Jones biography.

Wynette filed for divorce in 1973, reconsidered and then filed again two years later. This time it stuck. However, though the pair were divorced, they continued to sing together for years afterward. Wynette died in 1998.

Jones' life went into a tailspin. He started using cocaine and missing shows more frequently, 54 in 1979 alone, according to CMT.com. His weight dropped from 150 to 100 pounds. He entered rehab but left after a month.

And yet, it was at this time he recorded perhaps his greatest song, 1980's "He Stopped Loving Her Today," the tale of a man who continued pining for his lost love many years after she left him. The song, written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putnam, has been voted the greatest country song of all time in a Country Music Magazine poll.

Jones continued to struggle in the early '80s -- once leading police on a car chase in Nashville -- but with the help of his fourth wife, Nancy Sepulvado, he got clean. Though his hit-making slowed down, mainly thanks to changing tastes in country music, he became a revered elder statesman, often credited as an influence by generations that followed. He paid tribute to his own and preceding generations in a 1985 hit, "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes."

Other singers stood up for Jones. At the Country Music Association Awards in 1999, Jones was asked to shorten his hit song "Choices." He refused and boycotted the honors. But at the awards, Alan Jackson cut his own song short and went into "Choices," giving Jones his due.

"Not everybody needs to sound like a George Jones record," Jackson once said in an interview, according to The New York Times. "But that's what I've always done."

His singing remains a model.

"There aren't words in our language to describe the depth of his greatness," Vince Gill said in a statement. "I'll miss my kind and generous friend."

Jones, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, was honored by the Kennedy Center in 2008 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.

George you was one of the best ,love his music,He stopped loving her today,has got to be one of the saddest songs recorded,one of the best CW singers ,god bless George and thanks for the music.

[Kamasu_Jr]

His passing is a major loss in country music. He was revered by so many in country. I was not a fan, but liked some of the duets he recorded with his late wife Tammy Wynette, who never seemed to smile when she was with George. I used to wonder what was up with her- then I found out that George drank. I knew why she seldom smiled. They divorced.

[imnokid]

I think George Jones sang with more soul than most people who are called soul singers.
My all time favorite singer. RIP

[Roberta75]

George heard the cottonwoods whisperin' above,
"Tammy ... Tammy ...
Tammy's in love"
The ole hooty-owl
hooty-hoos to the dove,
"Tammy ... Tammy ...
Tammy's in love".

Mr George Jones is reunited with Miss Tammy Wynette at the Grand old Opry in the sky.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me"

Welcome George dear Father to your Heavenly mansion so he may sing forever in eternity.

Your humble servant.

Roberta

[mark speck]

One of my heroes...I've listened to his music pretty much all of my life. There will NEVER be another like him. RIP, George, and thank you...

Best,

Mark

[splanky]

I wanted to say this earlier but I didn't. First, RIP, Mr Jones. You more than made your mark...
That said, I wasn't a big fan of George's singing; Johnny Cash was and remains my man in
country music and my uncle shared Conway Twitty and Roger Miller with me. But George's
songs were some of the most poignant in the genre! She Thinks I Still Care floored me, did he write that? Choices which Bob Porter played in his honor on my jazz station yesterday,
was some of the most brutally honest lyrics I've heard in any genre. Again, RIP, George Jones...

[Kamasu_Jr]

I wanted to say this earlier but I didn't. First, RIP, Mr Jones. You more than made your mark...
That said, I wasn't a big fan of George's singing; Johnny Cash was and remains my man in
country music and my uncle shared Conway Twitty and Roger Miller with me. But George's
songs were some of the most poignant in the genre! She Thinks I Still Care floored me, did he write that? Choices which Bob Porter played in his honor on my jazz station yesterday,
was some of the most brutally honest lyrics I've heard in any genre. Again, RIP, George Jones...

Interesting posts IMNOKID & Splanky. I too liked Conway Twitty BECAUSE HE HAD cajones. He was not afraid to be controversial. I also like Glen Campbell, ROGER MILLER, BJ Thomas, Merle Haggard, Kenny Rodgers. I think some of the whining fiddles and the twangin' might have put up a barrier between George Jones and me, so I wasn't always listening. BUT we do have some George Jones in the library. I like when singers sing the truth and I can recognize it.

[splanky]

Kam, I'm guessing you've already seen this but I'll post it anyway....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAA_LUCb0QE

I wish my uncle could have seen it but he passed away long before we even got the internet...