U. S. country singer Hank Thompson, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, died of lung cancer Tuesday at his home. (File Photo)

    BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- U. S. country singer Hank Thompson, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, died of lung cancer Tuesday at his home, media quoted his spokesman, as saying.

    Thompson, 82, died just days after canceling his tour and announcing his retirement.

    "He was battling aggressive lung cancer," said his spokesman Tracy Pitcox, also president of Heart of Texas Records in a written statement. "He remained conscious until the last couple of hours and passed away peacefully at about 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday night surrounded by his friends and family."

    Dubbed the "King of Western Swing," Thompson scored 29 top 10 hits and another 19 in the top 20 country charts between 1948 and 1974.

    His first hit record was "Whoa, Sailor" in 1946. That year, he started a band called the Brazos Valley Boys, which won Billboard magazine's touring band of the year award 14 consecutive times.

    Loved by fans for his distinctive voice and musical style, the country singer's best hits include "A Six Pack to Go" and "The Wild Side of Life." The latter inspired Kitty Wells' famous "answer song" --"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels," which was the first No. 1 hit by a woman soloist on the country music charts and made Wells a star.

    Thompson's song was about a guy who'd lost his wife when she left him "and went back to the wild side of life." The song says, "I didn't know God made honky-tonk angels."

    "It wasn't God who made honky-tonk angels, as you said in the words of your song," sang Wells. "Too many times married men think they're still single, that has caused many a good girl to go wrong."

    Born in Waco, Texas, Thompson served in the U.S. Navy, and studied electrical engineering at Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas and Princeton.

    (Agencies)