Country Singer Charlie Robison Dead at 59
Country music singer and songwriter Charlie Robison has died.
He passed away in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday, Sept. 10 at the age of 59.
Robison, who served as a judge on the reality competition series Nashville Star, died from cardiac arrest, along with other complications, at a hospital, a family representative confirmed to the Associated Press.
His wife, Kristen Robison, also confirmed the news in a heartbreaking statement on Facebook, writing, “It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that my husband, Charlie Robison has passed away today, surrounded by his family and friends.”
“My heart is broken. Please pray for me, our children and our family,” she continued.
Robison began his musical career in the 1980s playing in local bands before releasing his solo debut album, Bandera, in 1996, which was named after the city where he grew up on the family's ranch.
He released his eighth and final album, High Life, in 2013, though his 2001 album Step Right, yielded his only Top 40 Country hit, “I Want You Bad.”
His retirement came in 2018 due to a “surgical procedure” resulting in “complications” that left him with the “permanent inability to sing,” his Facebook message revealed.
“Gonna keep it short but just wanted y’all to hear it from me. It’s been an amazing ride and I cannot tell you all what the last 25 years has meant to me,” he wrote at the time, thanking fans for all of their support.
“As they say, all good things must end,” he noted.
He is survived by his wife, his stepchildren, and son Jett James, who was born in February 2020, along with his ex-wife Emily Strayer (one of the founding members of The Chicks) and their three children together—Charles "Gus" Augustus, 20, and 18-year-old twins Julianna Tex and Henry Benjamin.
On Sunday, The Chicks announced they were moving their Tuesday show to Monday as a result of an “urgent family matter.”
