SAN ANTONIO (AP) 鈥� Charlie Robison, the Texas singer-songwriter whose rootsy anthems made the country charts until he was forced to retire after complications from a medical procedure left him unable to sing, died Sunday. He was 59.
Robison died at a hospital in San Antonio after suffering cardiac arrest and other complications, according to a family representative.
Robison launched his music career in the late 1980s, playing in local Austin bands like Two Hoots and a Holler before forming his own Millionaire Playboys. In 1996, he released his solo debut, 鈥淏andera,鈥� named for the Texas Hill Country town where his family has had a ranch for generations.
When he was approached by Sony in 1998, Robison signed with its Lucky Dog imprint, which was devoted to rawer country. His 2001 album 鈥淪tep Right Up鈥� produced his only Top 40 country song, 鈥淚 Want You Bad."
In 2018, Robison announced that he had permanently lost the ability to sing following a surgical procedure on his throat. "Therefore, with a very heavy heart I am officially retiring from the stage and studio,鈥� he wrote on Facebook.
Robison served as a judge for one year on USA Network's 鈥淣ashville Star,鈥� a reality TV show in which contestants lived together while competing for a country music recording contract.
He is survived by his wife, Kristen Robison, and four children and stepchildren. Three of his children were with his first wife, Emily Strayer, a founding member of the superstar country band The Chicks. They divorced in 2008.
Robison's breakup with Strayer inspired songs on the 2009 album 鈥淏eautiful Day.鈥� He recorded it while living across from the Greyhound bus station in San Antonio, in a loft apartment with mismatched furniture and strewn beer bottles, 鈥渢he quintessential bachelor pad,鈥� he recalled.
鈥淧eople come up to me and say they鈥檙e going through something right now, and it鈥檚 like this is completely written about them,鈥� Robison told The Associated Press in 2009. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 meaning to do that, but it鈥檚 been a residual effect of the record.鈥�
Robison's final album, the rock-tinged 鈥淗igh Life鈥� from 2013, included a cover version of Bob Dylan's 鈥淲hen I Paint My Masterpiece.鈥�
Memorial services are pending.
The Associated Press
