Music veteran George Jones, the Country Music Hall of Famer, has cancelled a swath of spring concert dates — including an eight-city Canadian run — upon orders from his doctors.

The Texas-born singer nicknamed "The Possum" has postponed all tour dates through May 20, which includes stops in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Jones, 80, recently spent a week in a Tennessee hospital after developing an upper respiratory infection. He cancelled shows in Minnesota and South Dakota in mid-April after doctors ordered him to rest and recuperate at his Franklin, Tenn. home.

"I never want to cancel a show, but I have to do what the doctors tell me," Jones said in a statement at the time.

"I thank all the fans from the bottom of my heart for their prayers and I look forward to seeing them on the road soon."

This latest batch of cancellations comes after doctors ordered Jones to extend his recovery time at home, according to the singer's spokesman.

An elder statesman of the country music scene, Jones first rose to fame in the 1950s, eventually topping the charts with hits like White Lightning, Tender Years and He Stopped Loving Her Today.

The fiery Jones was as known for his prolific output and busy touring schedule as for his wild-man reputation, stormy romantic relationships and tendency towards violent rampages. His battles with alcohol and drug addiction resulted in a legendary inconsistent performance record and the nickname "No-show Jones."

Jones, who published an autobiography titled I Lived to Tell It All in 1996, has since spent time in rehab and is "doing wonderful," he told fans in a recent health update video message.

In the same missive, which he posted on his website, the still-feisty singer blasted Georgette Lennon (his daughter with the late Tammy Wynette and a country artist herself) over a family feud.

Jones was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992, honoured by the Kennedy Center in 2008 and, in February, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.