Mexican-American singer Johnny Rodriguez, whose 1970s country hits topped charts, dies at 73

Johnny Rodriguez poses for a photo in Nashville, Tenn., July 3, 1996. (AP Photo/Christopher Berkey, File)

Country music star Johnny Rodriguez, a popular Mexican American singer best known for chart-topping hits in the 1970s such as “I Just Can’t Get Her Out of My Mind,” “Ridin’ My Thumb to Mexico” and “That’s the Way Love Goes,” has died. He was 73.

Rodriguez died Friday, according to social media statements posted by his daughter, Aubry Rodriguez. She said he died peacefully and surrounded by family.

“Dad was not only a legendary musician whose artistry touched millions around the world, but also a deeply loved husband, father, uncle, and brother whose warmth, humor, and compassion shaped the lives of all who knew him,” she wrote.

Rodriguez was named the most promising male vocalist at the 1972 Academy of Country Music Awards, and his debut, “Introducing Johnny Rodriguez,” was nominated for album of the year in 1973. More than a dozen of his albums and singles landed in the Top 10.

Rodriguez later said his career suffered after he began to use drugs and alcohol excessively.

Rodriguez was born in Sabinal, Texas, a small town about 60 miles (100 kilometres) west of San Antonio and about 90 miles (145 kilometres) east of the U.S.-Mexico border.

A Texas jury acquitted Rodriguez of murder in 1999, about a year after he walked into his mother’s house in Sabinal and shot once at an acquaintance whom he thought was a burglar. Israel Borrego, 26, died a day after he was shot.

Rodriguez continued to play concerts in South Texas, and he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.