Country legend George Jones has died at 81

Country-music icon George Jones died this morning at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. The 81-year-old country-music icon had been hospitalized since April 18 with fever and irregular blood pressure.

Jones was notorious for his substance abuse and legendary unreliability—he missed so many concerts for what might be called "lifestyle-related reasons" that he earned the nickname "No-Show Jones"—but he'll be remembered for his vocal dexterity and his uncanny ability to wring every last drop of emotion from a lyric.

Over a career that spanned nearly 60 years, Jones released dozens of singles that hit the U.S. country chart, including 14 that made it to number one. Here are a couple of those, starting with "White Lightning". This performance of the 1959 hit is from the 1965 film Country Music on Broadway.

And here's what many consider the greatest country song of all time, the 1980 tear-jerker "He Stopped Loving Her Today", in a performance from 1993.