Country singer Tony Douglas's battle with lymphoma has ended. The popular '60s and '70's Texas hero and Louisiana Hayride star was best known nationally for his 1963 hit 'His and Hers,' but also scored two other songs on the Top 40 between a long career in the south and southwest. Douglas died in Athens, Texas on Tuesday (Jan. 22).

'My Last Day' and 'Thank You for Touching My Life' (both from 1973) were two other songs of Douglas's that received significant radio airplay. The latter was the title track from his most successful album.

“'Thank You for Touching My Life' has truly been a Godsend for my career,” Douglas once said, according to a press release. “It did so much for me and when Dot (Dot Records) picked up the album and promoted it all over the country, we couldn’t keep them in the stores.”

According to his biography at TonyDouglas.com, the Martins Mill native first made his mark after serving two years in the Army in Germany. He began at the Fort Worth Cowtown Hoedown in 1956 -- after auditioning four times he got the gig when crowds begged him to return to the stage for an encore. Later that year he was asked to be a part of the popular Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, La.

After three years there, he was offered a contract to play the Grand Ole Opry, but he turned it down after realizing that signing would mean he'd have to move from Texas to Tennessee.

Douglas continued to perform into the early '90s when his album 'Thank You Lord, for Making Her Mine' was received poorly at radio. He took the next three years off, but at the encouragement of his fans, he returned. In 2010 Douglas recorded his final album, 'Saved the Best for Last.'

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