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Country music star Mickey Gilley, who served as the inspiration behind the 1980 film Urban Cowboy, passed away at 86. The news of his demise was announced in an official statement by Mickey Gilley Associates:
"He passed peacefully with his family and close friends by his side."
Gilley took his last breath on Saturday, May 7, in Branson, Missouri, where he ran his namesake Grand Shanghai Theatre.
The musician even performed last month but reportedly suffered from "failing health" over the past week. No immediate cause of his death was announced at the time of writing.
According to his representatives, Gilley is survived by his wife, Cindy Loeb Gilley. The family is also survived by his children, Kathy, Michael, Gregory, Keith Ray, four grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
Twitter mourns the loss of Mickey Gilley
Mickey Gilley was one of the most prominent country musicians of the late 1990s. He had 39 Top 10 country hits, 17 number one songs and 42 singles on the top 40 US country chart.
He was also the owner of Gilley’s, “the world’s largest honky tonk,” in Pasadena, Texas, and helmed the "Urban Cowboy" movement in 1980s, later inspiring a box office hit of the same name.
Following the news of his demise, several people took to Twitter to pay their heartfelt tributes to the singer and mourn his loss:
Remembered for iconic songs like Room Full of Roses, Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time, Chains of Love, She's Pulling Me Back Again, Honky Tonky Memories, and the remake of the Soul hit Stand by Me, Gilley won six Academy of Country Music Awards during his lifetime.
He also earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Texas Country Hall of Fame in 2011. Gilley was one of the few artists to receive the Academy of Country Music's Triple Crown Award.
As tributes continue to pour in online, Gilley will undoubtedly be missed by his family, friends, fans, followers, colleagues and fellow musicians.
However, his legacy and contribution to music will always be cherished and remembered by his contemporaries and future generations.
