George Jones Dies: Country Music Star "The Possum" Lived To Be 81

George Jones, one of country music's biggest names, has died at the age of 81. He was hospitalized with irregular blood pressure and died at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. Friday.

The late and often candid crooner Frank Sinatra reportedly called him the "Second Best Singer In America," after the Jersey native who always wanted it "my way", of course. George Jones' biggest hit came in 1981 with "He Stopped Loving Her Today," more than a quarter century into his 50-plus year career.

George Jones' life outside of the bright lights of the Nashville stage was often fraught with alcoholism, which he battled throughout his storied career. In a unique incident he went so far as to reference in one of his songs, Jones' second wife Shirley would often hide his keys when she left their home in fear he would drive to buy liquor. Unwilling to walk the number of miles to the nearest booze outpost, George Jones was unable to find the keys to the car so he ingeniously came up with a solution. Looking outside, he spotted the family's ride-on lawnmower with a key still in the ignition. So, Jones set out for his alcohol fix with "ten horsepower under [his] seat". He said in his book "I Lived To Tell It All" that it took him nearly 90 minutes to reach the liquor store: "But reach it I did," Jones remarked.

The Saratoga, Texas native's most famous marriage was to fellow country musician Tammy Wynette in 1969 who he later performed numerous duets with. He began his adult life in the United States Marine Corps and was so mesmerized by country star Hank Williams when he returned from active duty that he decided to pursue a musical career "full time".

As country music evolved into the different sound heard today, Jones rebuffed the idea of changing his harmonies to fit the time, continuing to produce old-fashioned country songs into the present day. He credited American Idol's Carrie Underwood, and Fleetwood, Pa-native Taylor Swift for being skillful musicians but said that their music was not true country, and that "they need to ... find their own [genre] title".

George Jones was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992 and was honored by the John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. in 2008.