On this day (May 7) in 2022, Mickey Gilley died of complications from bone cancer in Springfield, Missouri, at the age of 86. He had a long string of hits in the 1970s. Then, his nightclub inspired and appeared in the 1980 film Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta. The movie and the song he recorded for the soundtrack helped maintain his momentum through the end of the decade.
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Gilley released his first single, “Call Me Shorty,” in 1958, and it failed to chart. He released a single every few years until the end of the 1960s. “Now I can Live Again” was the only one to reach the country chart, where it peaked at No. 68…