LOS ANGELES, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Well-known American country music singer George Jones died Thursday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 81.
Jones, who was born in the U.S. state of Texas on Sept. 12, 1931, began singing on the streets of Beaumont, also in Texas, as a teenager. He launched his recording career under Starday label in Houston, a populous city in the lone star state, and had his first No. hit "White Lighting" in 1959.
The country music singer would then recorded more than 160 charting tunes, including "The Grand Tour," "Golden Ring" and "Why Baby Why" during a prolific career which spanned more than five decades. The singer's best known pop record would probably be "He Stopped Loving Her Today," a smash hit by which Jones garnered a Grammy and Single of the Year and Song of the Year from the Academy of Country Music in 1980. He also received, among a great number of other accolades, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award in 2012.
Jones announced his farewell tour last year, which concluded with a sold-out show at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Nov.22.