Country Music's Sonny James Dies At 87

NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) — Recently hospitalized, James passed away on Monday, February 22, 2016 from natural causes while surrounded by family and friends at Alive Hospice in Nashville, TN.

Sonny James was 87 years of age. Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006, this country music legend of the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s began his meteoric rise to fame with his multi-million selling 1956 hit “Young Love”. However, his legendary status was granted throughout the 1960’s and 70’s with his 26 #1 country hit singles, which includes his string of 16 consecutive #1 hit singles. To this day, Sonny James holds the record for the most consecutive #1’s by any solo recording artist throughout all musical genres.

Throughout his life he has stood always at the ready to share a funny story. Accompanied by his boyish smile, this man of deep faith never failed to cultivate his unique gift of making every friend feel as if they were his greatest friend every step of the way.

Mike Curb stated "Sonny James opened the doors of Nashville to me. He was the first person to invite me into a recording session at The Quonset Hut in 1964, and it started a friendship that lasted our whole life time. When I became Billboard Producer of the Year in the early 1970s, I realized that I needed to find someone better than me to produce Marie Osmond. I called Sonny who produced “Paper Roses” which went all the way to #1. I also got to witness Sonny’s first #1 country record “You’re The Only World I Know”. More important than all of that was a lifetime of friendship with Sonny and Doris; even seeing him the last two days of his life will have eternal meaning for me."