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.'
Famous friends chimed in 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.'
In a statement, Merle Haggard said, 'The world has lost the greatest country singer of all time. Amen.'
Jones, nicknamed 'The Possum' for his resemblance to the animal, was born in 1931.