Mickey Gilley Dies At 86

Mickey Gilley, known for launching the “Urban Cowboy” movement in country music, died on Saturday, May 7th in Branson, Missouri at the age of 86.

“Stand By Me,” “Room Full of Roses” and “Lonely Nights” are among his 17 career Number One hits.

Gilley played 10 shows in April and had recently come off the road.

According to his publicist, he “passed peacefully with his family and close friends by his side.”

In 1971, Gilley opened his world-famous honky-tonk Gilley’s in Pasadena, Texas, which sparked a chain of the famous nightclubs.

In 1980, Gilley appeared in the hit movie Urban Cowboy alongside John Travolta, Debra Winger and Johnny Lee. Gilley’s served as the backdrop for the film, which helped launch his acting career. He went on to star in popular television series including Murder She Wrote, The Fall Guy, Fantasy Island and Dukes of Hazzard.

Gilley earned six Academy of Country Music Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2011. He was one of only a handful of artists to receive the Academy of Country Music’s Triple Crown Awards.

Categorised in: Country Music News

This post was written by Cheryl Johnstone