SAN ANTONIO — Charlie Robison, the Texas singer-songwriter whose traditional-style anthems hit the country music charts until complications from surgery left him unable to sing, died Sunday. He is 59 years old.
Robison died at a San Antonio hospital after suffering cardiac arrest and other health problems, a family representative said.
He began his music career in the late 1980s, performing with local Austin bands such as Two Hoots and a Holler before forming his own group, Millionaire Playboys. In 1996 he debuted as a soloist with “Bandera,” in honor of the town in the Texas hills region where his family had a ranch for generations.
When Sony approached him in 1998, Robison signed to their label Lucky Dog, which was dedicated to a rawer country style. Their 2001 album “Step Right Up” included their only Top 40 song, “I Want You Bad.”
In 2018, Robison announced that he had permanently lost the ability to sing after undergoing a surgical procedure on his throat.
“Therefore, it is with great pain that I officially retire from the stage and studios,” he wrote on Facebook.
Robison worked for a year as a judge on the USA Network show “Nashville Star,” a reality show where contestants live together while competing for a country music recording contract.
Robison is survived by his wife, Kristen Robison, and four children and grandchildren. He has three of his children with his first wife Emily Strayer, a founding member of the famous country music group The Chicks. The couple divorced in 2008.
Funeral services for Robison are pending.
