Country Singer George Jones Dies at 81

The New York Times Arts Beat blog reports that George Jones died on Friday, April 19th at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 81. The singer was hospitalized on April 18 with fever and irregular blood pressure according to his publicists.

Jones had more than 150 hits during his career, both as a solo artist and in duets with other artists. The shape of his nose and facial features gave Jones the nickname "The Possum."
In August 2012, it was announced that at the conclusion of his 2013 tour, titled "The Grand Tour", Jones intended to retire to spend more time with his family.