Legend Leaves Big Shoes to Fill

Despite George Jones' infamous bouts with alcoholism and absenteeism, country-music fans held tightly to their devotion to the legendary performer, who died Friday in Nashville at age 81.

Jones endeared himself to his fans because he was a man of their everyday world, someone with whom they could share life's triumphs and troubles.

If his fans' contribution was their loyalty, Jones' gift in return was his songs. He was the best in the business at turning a tune into a life journey.

He partied and joked with early tunes such as "White Lightning" and "The Race is On." He mourned with his masterpiece "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Later he reflected on "Choices" and "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?"

With beady eyes that looked down a slightly turned-up nose, Jones was known as The Possum because, well, he favored one. Though he fell victim to some trappings of stardom, such as alcohol and drug abuse, he was never part of the glitterati. He was just The Possum.

He didn't need starlets, not with a wife such as fellow legend Tammy Wynette. And he didn't need a Rolls or Mercedes to find trouble, not when he could hop on a riding lawn mower for an intoxicated drive in search of another drink.

He really never sought notoriety; it just seemed to have a way of finding him.

For Jones, a former Marine, even something good — such as a concert at Camp Lejeune on the night of Aug.

16, 1987 — could turn into something that brought tears to your eyes.

Played before a packed house at Goettege fieldhouse, in North Carolina, the show featured Jones at the pinnacle of a career comeback. Despite rumors that the notoriously unreliable "No Show" Jones might be returning to his old ways — he was late and missed a pre-show press conference — he made it to the stage for a rousing performance on a muggy summer night.

"It can be said that a George Jones concert becomes a success whenever he sings his first song," a Daily News reviewer wrote at the time.

But after leaving around midnight, a bus carrying Jones and his family collided with a motorcycle near a Burger King, killing the operator, a Marine gunnery sergeant. A state trooper at the scene said Jones was distraught.

There were brighter days as Jones continued to perform despite declining health and advancing age. The awards and accolades never stopped — a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992, a late-career Grammy in 1999 and Kennedy Center honors in 2008. Modern superstars from Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks to Elvis Costello and Kenny Chesney paid tribute.

On Friday, Jones was in the middle of a farewell tour when died at the Vanderbilt University hospital. His many fans were left to reflect on a line from one of his classics, "You know this ol' world is full of singers, but only a few are chosen to tear your heart out when they sing."

George Jones was one of the few.

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