In his long career he had 17 number one hits: American country singer Mickey Gilley has now died.
US country singer and pianist Mickey Gilley, whose life inspired the film Urban Cowboy, has died at the age of 86.
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He passed away peacefully with his family in Branson, Missouri, on Saturday, his agent said on the artist’s verified Facebook page.
The Natchez, Mississippi native recently returned home from a 10-date tour. A cousin of rock ‘n’ roll star Jerry Lee Lewis, Gilley has had 17 number one country hits in his long career, including “Room Full of Roses”, “I Overlooked an Orchid” and “Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time”.
His career was boosted by the 1980 western melodrama Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta and Debra Winger, in which he also appeared. Set at Gilley’s own honky-tonk club in Pasadena, Texas, the film helped popularize country music and western fashion in big cities and popularizing mechanical bull riding in pubs. (dpa)
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