Mickey Gilley — a mega country star in the 70s and 80s — has passed away … this according to his own Texas community, which officially made the announcement.
The singer and founder of the “World’s Biggest Honky Tonk” died Saturday surrounded by loved ones – sad news the mayor of Pasadena, Texas announced over the weekend via the city’s official Facebook page. Jeff Wagner writes, “It was a great honor to know this man for most of my life. Mickey was a true musical talent who charted 42 Top 40 Country Charts singles over a span of two decades.” The exact circumstances of his death have not been revealed.
Waiting for your permission to load the Facebook post.
Wagner then gave a nod to Gilley for putting Pasadena on the map via the John Travolta movie, “Urban Cowboy,” and added… “We were so honored to have Mickey perform at our State of the City in February 2020. Our prayers for comfort and peace are with Mickey’s family, loved ones and fans. He attached photos of the mentioned event.
Gilley will probably be best remembered for starting Gilley’s Club – a dance hall that rose to prominence after being featured heavily in “UC”…and became a tourist attraction for country fans the world over. entire.
The guy also had some of his own music in the film, including his rendition of Ben E. King“Stand by Me,” which became a smash hit at the time… peaking at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country chart, and even climbing other charts.
Even before its resurgence in the 80s, MG had a lot of success in the 70s thanks to songs like “Room Full of Roses”, “Don’t The Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time”, “Honky Tonk Memories” , “Here Comes the Hurt Again”, “Bring It on Home to Me”, among others.
He has won several awards…mostly with the Academy of Country Music, including Single of the Year, Song of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best Male Vocalist and Album of the Year. year, etc.
Mickey is survived by his wife, Cindy Loeb Gilley, and her 4 children. He was 86 years old.
TO TEAR