George Jones Dies at 81

Country music legend George Jones died Friday. He was 81.

Jones was in the middle of his last tour when he was hospitalized in Nashville last Thursday for a fever and irregular blood pressure, his publicist said. Several tour dates had already been canceled before his passing.

See other celebrities we've lost this year

During his seven-decade career, Jones scored No. 1 hits in five straight decades and holds the record for the most charted country songs with approximately 160 hits. He is best known for his heartbreaking 1980 classic "He Stopped Loving Her Today," which many critics have hailed as the best country song of all time.

A member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1956, Jones was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992 and was a Kennedy Center honoree in 2008. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award last year.

Jones was also frequently in the tabloids for drinking, violent rages and his troubled love life. He was married four times, including to country singer Tammy Wynette for six years.

He is survived by four children and his wife of 30 years, Nancy.