MUSIC LEGEND DEAD Mel Tillis dead at 85 – Country music star who wrote Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town passes away after health battle
COUNTRY music legend Mel Tillis has died aged 85.
The singer, who wrote the classic Ruby (Don't Take Your Love to Town) and Detroit City, passed away today from respiratory failure.
Tillis recorded more than 60 albums and scored 36 singles in his career spanning his 60-year career.
In 1976, Tillis received Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year and was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
He wrote the song Coca Cola Cowboy for Clint Eastwood flick Every Which Way but Loose.
Tillis also penned hits for artists, including Kenny Rogers and Randy Travis.
In addition to his music career, Tillis appeared on TV shows such as Hee Haw and Hollywood Squares, was in multiple films, including Smokey and the Bandit 2 and Cannonball Run.
Tillis suffered from a stutter after a childhood bout of malaria but he didn't let it ruin his singing career.
He started performing in the 1950s with a group called The Westerners while working as a baker in the US Air Force stationed in Japan.
He later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he became of the most well-known country singers.
He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 2007 - just four months after joining the Grand Ole Opry.
Tillis had six children; songwriter Mel (Sonny) Tillis Jr., singer-songwriter Pam Tillis, Carrie April Tillis, Connie Tillis, Cindy Tillis and Hannah Tillis.
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