Trailblazing country singer Johnny Rodriguez has died aged 73.
The information was confirmed by his daughter, Aubry Rae Rodriguez, on social media on Saturday.
‘It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved Johnny Rodriguez, who left us peacefully on May 9th, surrounded by family,’ she wrote.
‘Dad was not solely a legendary musician whose artistry touched thousands and thousands all over the world, but additionally a deeply beloved husband, father, uncle, and brother whose heat, humour, and compassion formed the lives of all who knew him.
‘While the world has lost an extraordinary talent, we have lost someone irreplaceable – and we ask for privacy as we navigate this painful moment together.’
The legend’s demise follows reviews earlier this week that he had entered hospice care.
Born in 1951, Rodriguez was the first main Hispanic artist to realize mainstream success in country music.
His fusion of conventional country sounds with Spanish lyrics and Latin influences helped broaden the style’s attraction and opened doorways for future generations of Latino artists.
Born in Sabinal, Texas, Johnny was the second youngest of ten kids.
His teenage years had been marred by private tragedy – his father died of most cancers when Johnny was 16, and his older brother died in a automotive accident the next yr.
These occasions led to a troubled interval throughout which he was briefly jailed at age 18. While in jail, he was overheard singing by Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson, who launched him to promoter ‘Happy’ Shahan.
Shahan employed Rodriguez to carry out on the Alamo Village vacationer attraction, the place he was found by country stars Tom T. Hall and Bobby Bare.
Encouraged by Hall and Bare, Rodriguez moved to Nashville in 1971 with simply $14 and a guitar.
He quickly signed with Mercury Records and launched his debut single, Pass Me By (If You’re Only Passing Through), in 1972, which reached No. 9 on the Billboard country chart.
His breakthrough got here in 1973 with You Always Come Back (To Hurting Me), his first No. 1 hit, adopted by Ridin’ My Thumb to Mexico, which additionally topped the charts.
Rodriguez turned identified for incorporating Spanish verses into his songs, a novelty in country music on the time, and was hailed because the style’s first Hispanic star.
Throughout the Seventies, he launched a string of hits, together with That’s the Way Love Goes and Love Put a Song in My Heart.
His debut album, Introducing Johnny Rodriguez, reached No. 1 on the country albums chart, and he acquired a number of nominations from the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music.
In 1979, Rodriguez signed with Epic Records and labored with producer Billy Sherrill. While his chart success waned, he nonetheless achieved Top 10 hits within the Nineteen Eighties, resembling Foolin’ and How Could I Love Her So Much.
In 1998, headlines exploded with information of Rodriguez fatally taking pictures a person he believed to be a burglar. Rodriguez was charged with homicide however was acquitted by a Texas jury, which deemed the incident self-defense.
He toured extensively throughout the U.S. and internationally, enjoying venues from the Ryman Auditorium to Carnegie Hall.
He was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007 and acquired the Pioneer Award from the Institute of Hispanic Culture in 2010.
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