Country music legend Mickey Gilley dead at 86

BRANSON, Mo. (UPI) — Country music star Mickey Gilley has died after a brief illness in Branson, Mo. He was 86.

“He passed peacefully with his family and close friends by his side,” said an obituary posted on his verified Facebook page.

The cause of his death Saturday has not been disclosed to the public.

CBS New York said the Mississippi native recently completed a 10-day roadshow. He also helped run the Mickey Gilley Grand Shanghai Theatre in Branson.

During his decades-long music career, Gilley racked up 17 No. 1 songs and earned six Academy of Country Music Awards. His hits include “Room Full of Roses,” “Stand By Me,” “Window Up Above,” “Lonely Nights,” “She’s Pulling Me Back Again,” “Chains of Love,” “Honky Tonk Memories” and “Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time.”

A cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart, Gilley also guest starred on TV shows like Murder She Wrote, The Fall Guy, Fantasy Island, and The Dukes of Hazzard.

The 1980 John Travolta-Debra Winger movie, Urban Cowboy, was inspired by Gilley’s eponymous Texas honky tonk.

“We are saddened to hear the news of Mickey Gilley’s passing. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to his family and loved ones during this difficult time,” the Country Music Association tweeted.

Gilley is survived by his wife Cindy Loeb Gilley, his children Kathy, Michael, Gregory, and Keith Ray, four grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

Reporting by Karen Butler

United Press International

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