Iconic country starMickey Gilley has died at the age of 86. The singer, who helped launch the Urban Cowboy genre of the early 1980s, died at home in Missouri.
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Born in 1936, his death was shared by the mayor of Pasadena Texas, writing: "It was my great honor to know this man most of my life. Mickey was a true musical talent who charted 42 singles in the Top 40 Country Charts over a span of two decades."
Mickey helped launcg the early 1980s urrvan cowboy genre
He is one of only a few artists to win the ACM's Triple Crown Award, which most recently was won by Miranda Lambert.
"RIP Mickey Gilley! Awe man! We lost a great legend today! Stay hard Mickey Gilley!" tweeted one fan.
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"RIP Mickey Gilley. You were one of the kindest, gentlest and sweetest man I knew. You will be missed but your music will live on forever," shared another.
His first hit came in 1974 with "Room Full of Roses," while other hits included "Window Up Above," "Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time," "True Love Ways," and "You Don't Know Me".
He is one of only a few artists to win the ACM's Triple Crown Award
He won six Academy of Country Music Awards and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame over his career, and in 2011 he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.
In the 1980s John Travolta released the film Urban Cowboy which was filmed at Mickey's Texas nightclub Gilley's and turned him into a household name; he also covered "Stand by Me" for the film which reached the top of the country charts.
He then leveraged it into an acting career, starring in The Fall Guy, Fantasy Island and Dukes of Hazzard.
He is survived by his wife Cindy Loeb Gilley, and children Kathy, Michael, Gregory and Keith Ray, as well as four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren and his cousins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart.
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