George Jones died Friday morning at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Credit: Facebook

Country music legend George Jones is being remembered as one of the greatest voices of all time. He died Friday morning at a hospital in Nashville at age 81.

Country superstar Faith Hill says, “we lost one of the best voices God created.”

John Rich of the duo Big and Rich says on Twitter “we’ve lost our Elvis” and that “every serious country artist in the past 30 years has some George Jones DNA.”

Keith Urban quickly taped a brief tribute video, honoring Jones with a few lines from his own 1980 ballad, “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”

The praise was just as high from a contemporary and old friend.

Dolly Parton tweeted that Jones was her “all-time favorite singer and one of my favorite people in the world,” adding that she’s sending her love to Jones’ widow, Nancy, and the rest of their family.

Jones had hits like “Who is going to fill their shoes?” lamenting the straying from country music’s roots.

Asked what he thought about today’s stars like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift, Jones said they were good but weren’t making traditional country music.

Jones had chart-toppers in five separate decades spanning from the 1950s to the 1990s. He was prolific as a recording artist, putting out 150 albums.

From Honky-Tonks To Hits

Jones was born in 1931 in Beaumont, Texas. He worked the Texas honky-tonk circuit as a teenager after running away from home. An early marriage failed, and he joined the Marines for a short stint in his early 20s. Jones’ music career began in earnest in 1954 when Starday Records signed him and he started singing with Lefty Frizzell’s backup band. Two years later, he was named Most Promising New Country Vocalist.

Jones’ work with Mercury, Musicor and United Artists posted hits throughout the 60s. He sang duets for a while with Melba Montgomery, but found his stride as a singing partner with his third wife, Tammy Wynette. Their personal life was tempestuous, but they charted hits for more than a decade, even after the marriage broke apart.

In the 1990s, “Possum” hosted a show on The Nashville Network. He had three other country musicians at a time as guests, and part of the time was spent with the group sitting together to swap stories and gently poke fun at clips from early in their careers. At one point, in a show with Bobby Bare, Janie Fricke and Waylon Jennings, Jones talked about how he settled into his own trademark haircut to hide what he called a “flat head.” Jennings cut in:

“Let me tell you George, I never figured this out. You had that bear hair cut on and you look just as normal as anybody. But you get about half drunk and it would move down and that’s where that name Possum came from because you did look like a possum!”

“Well,” Jones replied, “ it kind of showed my big ears, too, when I didn’t have hair covering those big ears.”

Jones’ substance abuse was legendary, and he was the first first one to admit as much. He even wrote a song about the other nickname he earned for a habit of missing gigs because of his carousing:

“They call me No Show Jones/I’m seldom never on/the stage singin’ my songs/my whereabouts are unknown”

 

Jones’ health was failing in recent weeks. He had postponed two shows. His publicist says Jones was hospitalized with fever and irregular blood pressure. He died this morning at Vanderbilt Medical Center.

In 2010, NPR featured George Jones as part of its 50 Great Voices series; Terry Gross spoke to him on Fresh Air in the same year.

A Memorial

George Jones died Friday morning at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Credit: Facebook

George Jones fans visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame today signed a registry book beside a memorial to the icon.

Given the hard-drinking lifestyle of Jones, even admirers say they have mixed recollections.

“What he was, was an alcoholic,” says Lynnea Richards from Hagerstown, Md. “He was married to Tammy Wynette. He always cancelled his shows because he was drunk. That’s what you remember. But as far as his music goes, you’ll always remember ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today.’ That’s what you’ll remember.”

Richards calls it “one of the most romantic songs of all time.” She and others say Jones’ music will outlast the memory of his public troubles.

Nina Cardona and the Associated Press contributed to this report.