Mickey Gilley, who helped inspire ‘Urban Cowboy,’ dies at 86

NEW YORK (AP) — Country star Mickey Gilley has died. He was 86. He was known for such hits as “Window Up Above” and for the Texas honky-tonk he owned that inspired the hit film “Urban Cowboy.”

FILE – Mickey Gilley poses with the Triple Crown Award on the red carpet at the 50th annual Academy of Country Music Awards at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, April 19, 2015. Gilley, whose namesake Texas honky-tonk inspired the 1980 film “Urban Cowboy,” and a nationwide wave of Western-themed nightspots, died Saturday, May 7, 2022, at age 86. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP, File)

Based on an Esquire magazine article about two regulars at Gilley’s, the film starred John Travolta and Debra Winger and inspired a nationwide wave of Western-themed clubs.

Gilley also had some famous relatives, including cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer; and evangelist Jimmy Swaggart. Gilley’s other hits include “City Lights” and “Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time.”

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