Johnny Rodriguez, who built a superstar-level career as one of country music’s first Hispanic stars in the 1970s, has died. According to his family, the singer died on Friday (May 9), “surrounded by family.

Mexican music and country music said almost the same thing, just in different languages,' the late singer said in a documentary.

The first popular Mexican American country artist, he was best known for the 1970s hits “I Just Can’t Get Her Out of My Mind” and “Ridin’ My Thumb to Mexico.”