Country Legend George Jones Dies At 81

Country legend George Jones has died at the age of 81, after a short hospitalization that necessitated the cancellation of an appearance.

Earlier this month, The Inquisitrreported that George Jones had taken ill, and the hitmaker was hospitalized after what reps said was a routine checkup led to further treatment. At the time, it was reported Jones had been “running a slight fever with irregular blood pressure.”

George Jones was in the midst of a tour when he was admitted to the hospital earlier in April, and was forced to cancel scheduled appearances in Atlanta, Georgia and Salem, Virginia. What transpired between his hospitalization and Jones’ death this morning at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee has not been disclosed, and the country singer’s cause of death has not been revealed.

Jones’ current tour had been slated to be his last, after a long and eventful career in country. The singer had married four times, once to fellow country legend Tammy Wynette.

After a 1983 arrest, Jones spoke of some of the tumult in his life, saying of issues with alcohol:

“Liquor is a bad thing. It’s not even good to drink it socially. Sooner or later, you’re gonna drink too many and make a butt out of yourself or lose a friend or something.”

Jones continued:

“It’s just a shame that it took me so damn long to understand that I wasn’t getting a damn thing by it. All I was doing is making things worse every day. You almost got to learn these things yourself. Experience is the best teacher in the world.”

Initial reports on George Jones’ death indicate:

“Publicist Kirt Webster says Jones died Friday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after being hospitalized with fever and irregular blood pressure.”

George Jones narrowly survived a bad 1999 car wreck, recovering and hitting the tour circuit again before his death.