San Antonio-A Country Music Star Johnny Rodriguez, a popular Mexican American singer best known for hits at the top of the 1970s, such as “I just can’t get her out of my mind,” “Ridin ‘my thumb to Mexico” and “This is what love” died. He was 73 years old.
Rodriguez died Friday in San Antonio for health complications, according to his daughter, Aubry Rodriguez. She also shared a statement on social media saying that he was peacefully and was surrounded by the family.
“Dad was not only a legendary musician whose art played millions around the world, but also a husband, father, father, uncle, and deeply beloved brother, whose warmth, humor and compassion shaped the lives of all who knew him,” she wrote.
Rodriguez was appointed the most promising male singer at the 1972 country music award, and his debut, “Introduction to Johnny Rodriguez”, was nominated for the album of the year in 1973. More than a dozen albums and singles landed at the top 10.
Rodriguez later said that his career suffered after he started using drugs and alcohol excessively.
Rodriguez was born in Sabinal, Texas, a small town about 60 kilometers west of San Antonio and about 150 kilometers east from the US-Méxican border.
A Texas jury acquitted Rodriguez from murder in 1999, about a year after he entered his mother’s house in Sabinal and once fired on an acquaintance that he thought he was a thief. Israel Borrego, 26, died a day after being shot.
Rodriguez continued to play shows in the southern Texas and was introduced into the Hall of Fame of Texas Country Music in 2007.