Jeannie Seely – Photo by Cyndi Hornsby

Hometown Country Music was the first to break the sad news of Grand Ole Opry star Jeannie Seely’s passing today on social media, and now we’ve got some reactions coming in from the country music world.  First, here is the press release from her publicist, then below will be quotes from some of her peers.

• Artist Name: Jay Kutcher
• Hometown: Jonquière Québec Canada

What project(s) are you currently working on?

My second album

What inspired you to pursue a career in music and when did you know?

My own family (Father, Uncles etc) are musicians, signers. So since I’m young.

If you weren’t pursuing a career in music, what would you be doing for a living?

I’m really good in construction.

What is your favorite downtime activity?

To be with my family.

Who is your biggest celebrity crush?

Luke Bryan

Who is your favorite sports team(s)?

Montreal Canadians NHL Hockey Team

What is the last movie that you watched?

James Bond

What is the last album you listened to?

Tucker Wetmore

If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Jay Kutcher album

What is the greatest country song of all time?

Too many great songs to have only one.

What has been your favorite city/town that you’ve visited out on the road?

Nashville

What is your favorite meal?

Tomahawk on Kamado Grill.

Who is your dream duet partner?

Luke Bryan

Who would you like to go on tour with?

Luke Bryan Thomas Rhett, Keith Urban, Morgan Wallen

What is your ultimate career goal(s)?

To play at the Bell Center, Madisson Square Garden, CMA in Nashville all and big festivals !!!

How can fans connect with you on Social Media?

Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok

Jeff Cook, founding member and legendary guitarist of the supergroup ALABAMA, has died. Cook, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame,  Musicians Hall of Fame, Fiddlers Hall of Fame and Gibson’s Guitarist of the Year, passed away peacefully yesterday, November 7, with his family and close friends by his side at his beach home in Destin, Florida. He was 73. The multi-award winning guitarist was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012. Cook was a champion in all he attempted and he courageously faced his battle with a positive attitude.

Jeffrey Alan Cook was born in Fort Payne, Alabama on August 27, 1949. He began playing lead guitar and keyboards in bands at the age of 13. Securing a broadcast license only three days after his 14th birthday, Cook went to work as a disc jockey at a local Fort Payne radio station. The broadcast bug had entered his blood and later resulted in him owning radio and TV stations. After graduating from Fort Payne High School, Cook received a degree in Electronic Technology from Gadsden State Community College in Gadsden, Alabama and was named “Outstanding Alumni” by the American Association of Community Colleges. Cook loved that radio combined two of his favorite things, music and electronics.

One of Cook’s lifelong dreams came true with the construction of Cook Sound Studios and his home, “Cook Castle,” based in Fort Payne. The studio was a way for him to help musicians share their music with others. Outside of music, one of his favorite hobbies was bass fishing. He was proud to be an official “Fishing Ambassador” to the state of Alabama, as proclaimed by five Governors.

Cook is credited for introducing the electric double neck guitar to country music. He was also an accomplished musician with the ability to play piano, guitar, fiddle, bass guitar, banjo, mandolin and anything else thrown in front of him.

Music has lost another great talent.  Here is the press release that we received this morning breaking the news of the passing of Jerry Lee Lewis.  We have added some quotes below the press release from his peers that we’ve found via social media and from other PR firms.

Somewhere in the world, in a mean little honky-tonk or big music hall or church basement rec room, someone is playing a Jerry Lee Lewis song. Wherever there is a piano, someone is shouting…

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain
Too much love drives a man insane…

“But they won’t play it like the Killer,” Lewis liked to say, as if he needed to make sure the whole world was hearing him right, hearing the pounding genius of it, in songs like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Breathless” and “Great Balls of Fire.”
“‘Cause,” he liked to say, “ain’t but one of me.”
 
You broke my will
But what a thrill…

Lewis, perhaps the last true, great icon of the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, whose marriage of blues, gospel, country, honky-tonk and raw, pounding stage performances so threatened a young Elvis Presley that it made him cry, has died.

He was there at the beginning, with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, and the rest, and watched them fade away one by one till it was him alone to bear witness, and sing of the birth of rock ‘n’ roll.

“Who would have thought,” he said, near the end of his days, “it would be me?”

Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!

He suffered through the last years of his life from various illnesses and injuries that, his physicians have often said, should have taken him decades ago; he had abused his body so thoroughly as a young man he was given little chance of lasting through middle age, let alone old age. 

“He is ready to leave,” his wife Judith said, just before his death.

Lewis, who performed everything from “Over the Rainbow” to Al Jolson, who played the Opry and the Apollo and even Shakespeare, was 87 years old.

Some music historians have wondered if Lewis, regarded by his fans and many music historians as rock’s first, great wild man, might be indestructible; his obituary has been written, re-written, then shelved, gathering dust for a day that seemed inevitable, but seemed to never come. He defied death in his old age just as he shrugged off the hard-driving, self-destructive lifestyle of his younger years, to play his music to a worldwide audience across seven decades, decorate the walls of his home with Grammys and gold records, and spawn a million outrageous stories — most of them true.
Once, when asked by a biographer: “Is it true that…”

“Yeah,” interrupted Lewis, without waiting to hear the particulars, “it probably was.” 

His beginnings sounded like myth. His father, Elmo, and mother, Mamie, mortgaged their farm to buy him a piano, after he climbed onto a piano bench and, without ever having touched a keyboard before, began to play. His nickname, Killer, had nothing to do with his playing, but came from a schoolroom fight in Ferriday when he tried to choke a grown man with his own necktie; still, it fit the man, the musician to come, but there was more to him than a barroom piano pounder who sometimes kept a pistol in his pants.

Musicians and music journalists called him a true virtuoso, whose music was so rich and complex that some of them swore there were two pianos on stage instead of one. He played honky-tonk and blues across the same keyboard in the same instant, could play melody with both hands. He sang rockabilly before he knew it had a name, sang blues, gospel and country in the same set and sometimes the same breath, to become No. 24 on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Sam Phillips, who launched the careers of Elvis and Lewis at Sun Records in Memphis, called Lewis the most talented person he had ever seen. A talent that made him one of the very few to be inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s first class in 1986 and, most recently this past week, at long last, into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

As Lewis stacked hits on the charts in ’57 and Elvis received his draft notice, the reigning king of rock ‘n’ roll drove to Sun Records in tears, to tell Lewis: “You can have it.”  

But if Jerry Lee’s life was a comet that streaked across the sky of American music, it was also a thing that scorched him inside and out, and so many of the people around him.       

Judith, his seventh wife, was by his side when he passed away at his home in Desoto County, Mississippi, south of Memphis. He told her, in his final days, that he welcomed the hereafter, and that he was not afraid.

Born into the Assembly of God church in his hometown of Ferriday, Louisiana, he never stopped believing, even when his lifestyle made the specter of hell seem closer. His greatest fear, that he would be condemned to a lake of fire for playing what many in his Pentecostal faith called “the devil’s music,” haunted him. He shared his fear with Elvis, who begged him to never mention it again. Lewis thought Elvis, also a Pentecostal, was the one person who might understand, but he died in ’77, leaving Lewis to wonder, alone.

He had prayed every day across his long life for forgiveness, and for salvation. His was a church that believed in miracles; why, he sometimes wondered, should he not be one of them? He found peace near the end of his life in a simple idea: that a music that brought such joy to so many could only come from God, “and the devil,” he said, “didn’t have nothin’ to do with it.”

“He said he was ready to be with Jesus,” said Judith.

His last album was a gospel record with his cousin, lifetime televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who had preached against his music when they were younger. In Jerry Lee’s final months, they took turns at the keyboard, singing songs they learned as children: “Old Rugged Cross” and “Lily of the Valley” and “In the Garden.” Lewis, though his voice and body were weakened by his injury and a recent stroke, seemed happy, content.

Much of his life, Lewis had seemed determined to leave the world in the great fire he sang about. He set pianos ablaze, busted hecklers in the head with the butt-end of his microphone stand and rammed the gates of Graceland with his Rolls Royce. He shot holes in the wall of his Memphis office with a .38 revolver, shot his bass player in the chest, “by accident,” with a .357. His life, at different times, was a blur of high-speed chases and Crown Royal. The DEA met his planes on the runway. Fortunes came and went; all the wild rock musicians who came after him, he said, were mostly amateurs. Keith Richards tried to toss up a bottle of Crown Royal and catch it by the neck, like him, “but he never did it right … wasted a bunch of good liquor.”

But if you asked him, in his waning years, what he hoped people would say about him, he had a simple answer.
“You can tell ’em I played the piano and sang rock ‘n’ roll.”

His career, like his body, seemed doomed a dozen times.

After soaring to the top of the charts in ’57 with songs like “Shakin'” and “High School Confidential,” he was castigated in the press for his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin, Myra. His rock’n’ roll star seemed to burn out even as it began to rise, and after a few big hits in the early 1960s his career seemed to be over. He responded by loading two cars with instruments and musicians and hitting the road, to play some big rooms, still, but also every honky-tonk and beer joint that would pay him to perform. He fought his way out of beer joints in Iowa, then drove all night and all day to another town and another show.

Sometimes he gave them magic and sometimes, if the mood was on him, he gave them less, but in his old age he swore he gave them the magic all the time. In ’64, record producers taped his show at a Hamburg, Germany, nightclub and made what would become music history. Live at the Star Club would be regarded as one the rawest, wildest, and greatest live albums of all time.

Then, in a twist that surprised many of his rock fans, Jerry Lee Lewis went country. “Another Place, Another Time,” was just the beginning of a string of soulful country chart-toppers that made him rich and famous all over again. He had more than 30 songs reach Billboard’s Top 10, including “To Make Love Sweeter for You” and a haunting “Would You Take Another Chance on Me.” It seemed only natural to Jerry Lee. He had always believed that Hank Williams hung the moon.

In this new stardom he finally played the Grand Ole Opry, the organization that had once snubbed him, and ignored the two-song protocol to play what and for long as he pleased, even playing through the commercials. Then, in perhaps the oddest twist of his musical career, he was cast as Shakespeare’s sinister Iago in a musical production in Los Angeles; he was a natural.

Once again, he flew around the world, sometimes on his own plane, and once again his lifestyle made almost as many headlines as his music. Tragedy followed him; he buried two sons. His health began to fail, marriages failed, but somehow he always rallied, always kept playing, for big paydays, or for free in a Memphis nightclub, living the life he sang about in his songs.

In 2006, his Last Man Standing album sold a million copies, his best-selling album of his long career. He followed that with another success, Mean Ol’ Man. You could hear the ghosts of the old honky-tonks in them, as if Jerry Lee Lewis had, truly, found a way to stop time. He did a duet with Springsteen.  

His Lifetime Achievement Grammy was a kind of crowning achievement, and he appeared at Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame shows to accept his due and to school the whippersnappers on how it was done.

In 2012, when he was 76, he fell in love and married Judith, and they lived quietly – quietly for Jerry Lee Lewis – in northern Mississippi, though Lewis continued to do shows here in the U.S. and abroad.  That year they took a trip to Ferriday to visit the family cemetery, and to drive across the bridge to Natchez where, as a boy, Jerry Lee used to dangle over the girders high above the brown water of the Mississippi and the passing boats below. The other boys begged him to get down, but he just hung there, grinning, till they were in tears. When asked if he was scared, a lifetime later, he just looked surprised. The Killer didn’t get scared. But looking down at the river as an old man, he said he might have been crazy.

Later, they drove past the church where he beat the piano to pieces with his cousins Swaggart and Mickey Gilley, who would go on to country music stardom, pounding a little blues and honky-tonk into the hymns they were supposed to be practicing.

Just across town from the tiny church had once stood the other temple of his musical education, a blues joint called Haney’s Big House, where some of the biggest acts in the country came to play. As a little boy, he snuck in the door and hid under the tables to hear rolling blues piano and wicked guitar. And somewhere in between it all, between the hymnals and the beer joints, between Hank Williams and Ray Charles, he found something that was his alone. It was always a waste of breath to ask if he had any regrets.

He had a million, and he had none. It all just depended on the song that was running through his head at the time.

“I’ve had an interesting life,” he said, in his 2014 biography, “haven’t I?”

Written by Rick Bragg

Here is what the music industry is saying about his loss.

• Crystal Gayle – It’s so sad to hear that Jerry Lee Lewis has passed. I’ve loved him since I first met and worked with him in the early 1970s. He was definitely one of a kind as an artist and person.
• David Frizzell – I first met Jerry Lee Lewis with my brother Lefty in the late 50’s on a TV set they were filming and got to hear him sing “Great Balls Of Fire”… then years later when I was recording in California in the early ’80s (on a night off) we went to The Palamino Club to see Jerry’s show (that is the night me and my wife Jo met) and got to visit with him briefly. Over the next few years, we got to do a lot of shows together. We were so proud he was just inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. ‘Say Hello to Heaven’ Jerry Lee
• Dennis Quaid – Jerry Lee was a Christian, an American icon and the greatest piano player in the world. People will be listening to ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and ‘Whole Lot of Shakin” 500 years from now. I will miss him. God bless you Jerry Lee.
• Don McLean – Jerry Lee at the beginning of a session put his gun on the piano.  Silence.  They do the session…The next day the musicians come to the session and all bring their guns.  That was Jerry Lee.
• Elton John – Without Jerry Lee Lewis, I wouldn’t have become who I am today. He was groundbreaking and exciting, and he pulverized the piano. A brilliant singer too. Thank you for your trailblazing inspiration and all the rock ‘n’ roll memories.
• Gene Watson – In my opinion Jerry Lee Lewis had one of the truest most recognizable voices in the business! (No flats or sharps) original in every way!!! I don’t think we will ever have another Jerry Lee…The Killer.
• Heath Wright (Ricochet) – Today music lost one of its icons. Watching the Killer on stage was like watching a master class on how to entertain an audience. No one could follow him and no one ever will!
• Jacob Bryant – I remember growing up watching Jerry Lee Lewis movies and always thought he was such a bad ass piano player. A truly legendary rock and roll icon – may he Rest In Peace.
• Jamie O’Neal – Jerry Lee Lewis was one of the real founders of rock & roll. No one could touch ‘the killer’ on the keys! And he could sing country with the best of ’em. RIP Mr. Lewis. I know Heaven’s got a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on.
• Janie Fricke – The image and influence of Jerry Lee Lewis is an iconic memory we will always have. As a musician/singer I loved his energy and style. He was the greatest!
• Joe Bonsall (Oak Ridge Boys) – Jerry Lee Lewis has passed … REST EASY KILLER you were one of a kind…
• Kelly Lang – One of my favorite days was when we spent time in the studio with Jerry Lee watching he and my husband T.G. Sheppard sing a song that we wrote for him, (along with Bobby Tomberlin) called “The Killer.” He was a bit late arriving, which added to the anticipation, but when he did arrive, you knew you were in the presence of greatness. He was so amazing and bigger than life. There will never be another like him and he will truly be missed.
• Lacy J. Dalton – Jerry Lee was very much like Rod Stewart is – when he stepped on that stage to perform, he OWNED it! He will be missed.
• Lewis Brice – What a foundation Jerry Lee Lewis laid for rock ‘n’ roll to build on and what an influence he made on so many artists! Thank you, Jerry Lee Lewis for your passion in music!
• Phil Vassar – The first time I saw Jerry Lee Lewis play and literally light his piano on fire I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do!’ He proved that not all piano players are balladeers and that’s what I love and will always remember about him. He was a huge inspiration to me and so many musicians across genres. May he rest in peace.
• Rusty Golden – Everyone who knows about me knows that my #1 musical influence is Elton John. Well, Elton learned how to play rock and roll piano by listening to Jerry Lee Lewis, making him (unbeknownst to me) one of MY influences. He showed the world that you didn’t have to sit still when the spirit moved and could kick aside the piano stool, stand up and go wild during a song. Or stay seated and use his right foot on the keyboard. I’m grateful that I had the chance to meet both of them and say thanks for the music
• Sam Moore – Last time I saw Jerry was at The Diamond Festival in Belgium where we were both being honored. Jerry was in rare form. He made a big footprint in the music business and he will definitely be remembered and missed.
• Steve Azar – Blessed & most certainly honored to of gotten to know one of our greats, the world is gonna miss you. Heaven is rocking tonight
• T. Graham Brown – I went to the Jerry Lee Lewis school of singing. His style was one of my biggest influences. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? I’ll really miss that man. He was a pounder supreme and sublime. As he used to say, “Think about it!” Condolences to his survivors. RIP Daddy-O!!
• T.G. Sheppard – I’m deeply saddened to hear that my friend and one of the world’s greatest talents Jerry Lee Lewis has left for home. I was privileged and blessed to have known him. Doing concerts and singing with him on records were moments I’ll cherish forever. The Million Dollar Quartet has now been assembled together once again in heaven and I am sure God’s going to love hearing them sing. R.I.P. my friend.
• Taylor Hicks – I performed with Jerry Lee, and one night after the show, he told me that ‘his left hand was rock and roll and his right hand was boogie woogie!’ What a musical legend. He will be missed.
• The Bellamy Brothers – We just heard Jerry Lee Lewis passed away today. We have so many memories of touring the world together, Sweden, Spain, U.K., pretty much the whole European Contincent. We pray the ‘Killer’ will Rest In Peace now. We are pretty sure there will never be another one like him.
• Tim Atwood – I grew up listening to Jerry Lee Lewis. You hear his style of playing piano heavily incorporated into my own style of playing piano. I loved the way he moved on stage, and I love his shenanigans. He was a true entertainer, and I am so thankful he was still alive to accept and understand that he made it all the way to the Country Music Hall of Fame. It is where he belongs.

The post Remembering Jerry Lee Lewis first appeared on Hometown Country Music.]]> https://www.hometowncountrymusic.com/remembering-mickey-gilley/ Mon, 09 May 2022 02:49:39 +0000 https://www.hometowncountrymusic.com/?p=34563 It always pains us to receive press releases like this. Country singer and actor Mickey Gilley, known for launching the Urban Cowboy movement in Country music and hit songs including “Stand By Me,” “Room Full of Roses” and “Lonely Nights,” died Saturday in Branson, Missouri. Gilley was 86 and had just come off of the [...]

It always pains us to receive press releases like this.

Country singer and actor Mickey Gilley, known for launching the Urban Cowboy movement in Country music and hit songs including “Stand By Me,” “Room Full of Roses” and “Lonely Nights,” died Saturday in Branson, Missouri.

Gilley was 86 and had just come off of the road, his favorite place, having played ten shows in April. He passed peacefully with his family and close friends by his side.

Gilley, a native of Natchez, Mississippi, influenced generations of country singers for decades with his signature, haunting combination of Louisiana rhythm and blues and country-pop crossover melodies. He grew up with his two famous cousins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart, surrounded by the influence of music and earned 39 Top 10 hits and 17 No. 1 songs throughout his career.

In 1971, Gilley opened his world-famous honky-tonk Gilley’s in Pasadena, Texas, which sparked a chain of the famous nightclubs.

The son of Arthur Fillmore Gilley and Irene (Lewis) Gilley, Gilley learned how to play piano from Lewis and dabbled in boogie-woogie and gospel music early in his career before finding his professional footing in the ’70s with “Room Full of Roses.” Hits “Chains of Love,” “Honky Tonk Memories,” “She’s Pulling Me Back Again,” and “Here Comes the Hurt Again” followed as his honky-tonk gave way to the more progressive countrypolitan.

In 1980, Gilley splashed into pop culture when he appeared in the smash hit movie “Urban Cowboy” alongside John Travolta, Debra Winger and Johnny Lee. Gilley’s served as the backdrop for the film, which helped launch his acting career and put his music career on a whole new level. Gilley went on to star in popular television series including “Murder She Wrote,” “The Fall Guy,” “Fantasy Island” and “Dukes of Hazzard.”

Gilley was widely recognized for his work in music and movies, earning numerous accolades, including six Academy of Country Music Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2011. He was one of only a handful of artists to receive the Academy of Country Music’s Triple Crown Awards.

Gilley was preceded in death by his wife, Vivian. He is survived by his wife Cindy Loeb Gilley, his children Kathy, Michael, Gregory and Keith Ray, four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren and his cousins Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart.

The family respectfully requests privacy at this time.

Here is what some of his peers are saying:

• Bellamy Brothers – So sorry to hear the news of @MickeyGilley1’s passing, a great friend and amazing artist. #restinpeace #thegirlsallgetprettieratclosingtime
• Bill Anderson – I heard Mickey Gilley’s hit version of my song, ‘City Lights,’ on the radio Friday, and marveled for the ump-teenth time at what an incredible record it was. I never dreamed that one day later I would be mourning his passing. He was a great artist, a good friend, and like the rest of our country community, I sure will miss him.
• Billy Bob’s Texas – We are saddened to hear of the loss of our friend, Mickey Gilley. We were honored to share years of friendship (and a little competition) with him. We will continue to honor Mickey Gilley in our Wall of Fame for years to come. Our thoughts are with his family during this time.
• Bobby Bare – Been a friend of Gilley’s for 50 years. He was one of the good ones – I loved playing Gilley’s in Texas, we played it many, many times. The fact is, that’s where I first met Mickey and Johnny Lee and ol’ Sherwood Cryer. I’m sure going to miss my old friend.
• Bobby Tomberlin – What a career! Over 30 hits and Mickey was still performing just last month in Laughlin. I especially loved the records that he and Jim Ed Norman made. While working in Branson in 2018 and 2019, I got to hang with Mickey a couple of times and it was quite entertaining backstage before the show and during intermission. He was so much fun and so full of life and still owned the stage.
• Charlie Daniels Jr. – Mom and I are saddened to hear about the passing of @MickeyGilley1. Prayers for his friends and family. Heaven has gained a helluva piano player.
• CMA – We are saddened to hear the news of Mickey Gilley’s passing. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.
• Crystal Gayle – I am heart broken by the passing of Mickey Gilley. I started out my career opening for Mickey. He was such a great person and entertainer. I have loved him ever since.
• Dallas Wayne – With the Urban Cowboy movement of the 1970s, Mickey Gilley introduced his unique piano playing style to a whole new generation. He was one of the greatest entertainers I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing, as well as a warm and wonderful friend. Our deepest condolences go to his wife Cindy, cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and Linda Gail Lewis, his family, and millions of fans around the world. He will be greatly missed
• Damon Whiteside (CEO of ACM) – The Academy is saddened to lose one of our greats today. He is a seven-time ACM Awards winner including our Entertainer of the Year in 1976 and prestigious Triple Crown award in 2005, which few artists have achieved. His impact on Country Music, film, and television, can never be understated and will never be forgotten. We’ll always keep this urban cowboy in our hearts, and we send our deepest sympathies to his family and fans around the world.
• David Frizzell – Mickey Gilley and I have been friends since his ‘Urban Cowboy’ and my ‘Any Which Way You Can’ movie days. We had performed a lot around the country together and especially at his Gilley’s Club in Texas. We had quite a time! Gonna miss you!
• Eddie Bayers – Mickey was the first No. one record I played on and I  had 10 consecutive overall with him. He was a gift to not only country music, but the world of music. One cannot think of the motion picture ‘Urban Cowboy’ without thinking of Mickey Gilley.
• Flat River Band – Mickey taught is that the girls get prettier at closing time. A true one-of-a-kind music legend. You will be missed greatly.
• Gene Watson – I’m so very sorry to learn that our good friend and incredible legend in country music, Mickey Gilley has passed. A great singer and a great showman–and always a great friend. Please send your prayers out for his family.
• Grand Ole Opry – During tonight’s Opry show, we took a moment to recognize Mickey Gilley and his contributions to country music. You’ll be missed, Mickey.
• Heidi Newfield – I grew up on Mickey Gilley music! What a great loss. He was a true stylist! Seeing him live in concert as a kid, and the way he owned the stage…helped me realize that being an entertainer was often as important as the music itself. My deepest sympathies go out to his family. He will forever be a legend and rightfully so!
• Irving Azoff – Working with Mickey Gilley was undoubtedly one of the top highlights of bringing the Urban Cowboy story to both record and film audiences. Mickey was the real deal and a key component of the ‘Urban Cowboy’ story. He will be missed greatly.
• J.D. Shelburne – I am saddened to hear the passing of the legendary Mickey Gilley. One of the biggest names in the business. I was honored to perform in his famous nightclub in Vegas many times. Prayers to his family.
• J.P. Pennington (Exile) – Far too much of this kind of news lately. So sorry to hear of another music icon gone. He was an incredible person and an amazing artist. RIP Mickey.
• Jake Bush – Mickey Gilley passed away. I remember how huge he was when I was a kid in deer park. He was a household name. Sad day today
• Janie Fricke – I enjoyed working on Mickey Gilley records as a backup singer, with the great Eddie Kilroy as  producer. One of the first big concerts I played was Gilleys in Pasadena, TX  and was amazed at the bucking bull machine! Mickey’s image and memory will be forever.
• Jeannie Seely – My heart is broken at the loss of Mickey. I treasure all the times we got to work together and there were never enough. He and Johnny Lee brought a new dimension to country music with the urban Cowboy trend and brought new fans to the genre. Whether it was a boogie or a ballad, Mickey made it his own, no matter how many times it had been done before, and it would become my favorite version. He was loved and respected and he will be so greatly missed.
• Jerry Lee Lewis – I am so very saddened by the death of my cousin Mickey Gilley. He and Jimmy Swaggert are like brothers to me. We are asking for prayers for his wife, Cindy and his entire family. I’m sad and praying. I loved him very much.
• Jim Ed Norman – Mickey Gilley was more than just a legend to me. I loved him like a brother. We enjoyed a closeness that came from working towards goals that many suggested were unachievable. He was a kind, thoughtful fun-loving friend and partner through the process of making music and his generosity of spirit pulled the best from everyone with whom he worked. I’m overcome with a sadness that only the memory of his mischievous smile, beautiful soul and our special time together can erase.
• Joe Bonsall (Oak Ridge Boys) – Once again we have lost another country music star and a long-time friend. Rest In Peace Mickey Gilley until we all sing again. In the meantime, we will miss you brother.
• Joey Canyon – In 1980, Mickey Gilley and his country nightclub Gilley’s, was the scene for the movie ‘Urban Cowboy’, and along with his great music, was instrumental in introducing country music to a global audience. What a legacy!
• Johnny Lee – My heart will forever break over the loss of my dear friend Mickey Gilley. He believed in me when no one else did. Losing Gilley feels like a bad dream and sadly it’s not. He loved his fans more than anything in the world and taught me everything I needed to know about country music. He always told me if I thought it was going to rain, to always grab my umbrella. My prayers are with Cindy during this very difficult time.
• Kent Blazy – Mickey Gilley, a true legend and star. Cousin to Jerry Lee Lewis, (who taught him to play piano) and Jimmy Swaggart! He was versed in gospel, the blues, country and pop and he wove it all into his own unique sound. His bar “Gilleys” basically started the Urban Cowboy movement.I miss the piano player/singers that were stars. I would like to see that come back.Thanks for the music Mickey.
• Lacy J. Dalton – Mickey and I did so many shows together. I feel Mickey and Johnny are like brothers from another mother and this loss hits hard and he will be sorely missed. I truly respect him as a musician and he was a great entertainer. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
• Lane Brody – Gilley’s love of music and people was beautiful. Gifted far beyond talent, he was genuine, loyal, fearless and charming . He warmly welcomed artists and fans from across the globe and all walks of life into his world.  A country music ambassador extraordinaire! May his memory be eternal.
• Larry Gatlin – My old friend Mickey Gilley was one of a kind..a great entertainer and a great guy. RIP old friend
• Linda Davis – When I learned of the passing of Gilley my heart just sank! What a trailblazer he was his entire career!! Being a fellow Texan of course, his music blared on my radio and record player and 8 track player!! And then, Urban Cowboy, Gilley’s in Pasadena, he is a member of the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame – I am just getting started with all of his accolades. He used to sit and listen to me sing at the piano bar where I played for several years at the Sheraton Music City. He was an encourager to me and he was my friend. RIP Gilley.
• Lisa Matassa – My heart aches hearing of the passing of the incomparable Mickey Gilley. I was blessed to have known him and to have had the honor to record a song with him. He was an amazing person and someone I will truly miss. Rest In Peace my dear friend until we meet again in paradise.
• Makenzie Phipps – I am saddened to hear of the passing of yet another country legend, Mr. Mickey Gilley.  I was first exposed to Mr. Gilley and his music when I watched “Urban Cowboy”. His rendition of “Stand By Me” is a true country classic.  From hits such as “Don’t The Girls All Get Prettier At Closing Time” to “Room Full of Roses” in addition to his world-famous Gilley’s Bar, Mr. Gilley will go down in history as one of the all-time greats.
• Mary Sarah – I am beyond sad to hear the news of Mickey Gilley. Growing up in Texas, the name was all too well known to me. So many #1 songs that will never be forgotten and neither will he. Rest In Peace Mickey. We will see you again.
• Paige King Johnson – It breaks my heart to hear of Mickey’s passing! He has been a staple in music for many years & his spirit will truly be missed.
• Randall King – Aw man, RIP to the legend
• Reverend Jimmy Swaggart – With the passing of Mickey, the music world has lost a giant. I don’t think there is any argument about that. Mickey, Jerry Lee and myself were raised together. We learned to play piano together. I remember the day that he came to me and said, ‘Jimmy, I want to learn to play the piano.’ We were only about 10 years old. He had already taught himself to play guitar and had done very well. I remember showing him several chords on the piano, and he took it from there. I might quickly say that he took it very well – as everyone has seen for themselves for over a half-century. But alongside all of his achievements in music, the thing that thrilled me the most was that some time ago he called me and said, ‘Jimmy, I’ve made things right with the Lord.’ I saw an immediate change in his life in these last few days and that is the thing that’s far more important to me. The music world will miss him. And the work of God will miss him as well.  I will miss him. Our prayers are with his family and friends during this time.
• Rhonda Vincent – Another great loss in Country Music – so sad to hear of the passing of Mickey Gilley.  Our paths crossed a few times being in Branson; and Gene Watson and I did his TV show.  I loved the day I was fortunate to hang out backstage with Johnny Lee & Mickey Gilley during one of their shows. Great stories and great memories. May He Rest In Peace.
• Ricky Skaggs – Mickey Gilley was a great artist, and he was always nice to me. I won’t forget you Mickey. Rest in peace.
• Shane Owens – Mickey Gilley is one of the most famous country singers of all time. Not only was he a great singer he owned the biggest nightclub in Texas at one time. Truly a country Icon and cousin to the one and only Jerry Lee Lewis. RIP to a legend and truly one of a kind!
• Steve Azar – Mississippi lost a great one today What a legacy he left us on all! Blessings to his family! RIP
• T. Graham Brown – We just lost a great human being. Mickey Gilley has been honky-tonkin’ since the ’50s. ‘Urban Cowboy’ secured him a spot in America’s consciousness and he’s been in our minds ever since. He lived a full life and left us with a great catalog of hits. One of the things that I’m most proud of is that over the years we have become close. The times we spent together doing shows, cruises, or just talking were a gift. Sheila and I will miss him a lot. Please keep his family and friends in your prayers.
• T.G. Sheppard – Just when I think my heart can’t take anymore loss, I get the news that my dear close friend Mickey Gilley has passed. He truly altered the course of country music. I was fortunate to have gotten to see one of his last concerts 3 weeks ago. Prayers for Cindy, family and his fans.
• Tess Frizzell – Mickey Gilley and Conway Twitty announced my birth on the ACM awards and showed my grandmother, Dottie West the first video footage of me when I was born. Now, all three – him, Conway and my grandmother have left this earth and sing in heaven. Mom and uncle David played Gilley’s club in Texas so much when I was a kid. What an era. Sad to see him go.
• The Oak Ridge Boys – Just heard that MICKEY GILLEY has just passed away … wow … another singing friend has gone home … Bye Mickey … until the day
• Tim Atwood – Every loss to our country music community is a great loss, but this one hits close to home for me. It breaks my heart! Mickey Gilley was one of my musical heroes. No one could play a honky tonk piano better than Gilley, and no one had a better time on stage than Gilley. After his accident took away his ability to play, he often called me to play piano for him when he was in Nashville. He said I sounded more like Mickey Gilley than he did. That’s one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever had or will ever have. Not long ago, Jeannie Seely and I opened for Mickey at a festival in Illinois. He invited me on his bus where we visited for over an hour. I don’t know if he even realized how special that time was for me. My prayers go out to Cindy and the rest of his family and friends. Tonight I’m playing a show in Kentucky, and you can bet I’ll be singing “The Girls All Get Prettier At Closing Time” in honor of Mickey Gilley and the honky tonk sound he loved.
• Zachariah Malachi – I’m saddened to hear of the passing of Mickey Gilley. Few could hold a candle to his genuine honky tonk sound. When you hold these icons so high on a musical pedestal, we forget that they are mortal just like the rest of us. Prayers for all the fans and of course, his family. Gilley’s forever!

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