Music Icon George Jones Died of Respiratory Failure

The hard-charging country music superstar George Jones has died of respiratory failure. He had been hospitalized at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville for irregular blood pressure and fever.

Jones was 81.

The official cause of death was hypoxic respiratory failure - respiratory distress. Jones' wasn't able to get enough oxygen into his body.

He was surrounded by his family when he died.

The country legend had chart-topping songs from the 1950s to the 1990s, including White Lightning, She Thinks I Still Care and He Stopped Loving Her Today.

Jones fought alcohol and substance abuse over the years, but finally won these battles. 

Married four times, one of his most famous unions was with fellow country star Tammy Wynette.

His music influenced not only country music stars but a number of others, including Frank Sinatra and James Taylor.

Nicknamed "Possum," Jones recorded more than 150 albums.

His publicist said in a statement, "Today is a sad day for music. George said to me once, 'One day I'll Join the Angel band.' Well, today he did."