Folk Singer Gil Robbins Dies at 80

Gil Robbins, a folk singer and a member of the early '60s group the Highwaymen, has died, The Associated Press reports. He was 80.

Robbins died Tuesday at his home in Esteban Cantu, Mexico, according to publicist Tracey Jacobs. Jacobs is the publicist for Robbins' son, Oscar-winning actor Tim Robbins.

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Robbins joined the Highwaymen in 1962, shortly after the group released the hit "Michael." Robbins took the group in a more political direction when he joined and recorded five albums before the Highwaymen disbanded in 1964.

Before his time with the Highwaymen, the Spokane, Wash.-native was a well-known musician in New York's Greenwich Village folk scene. He played with groups such as the Cumberland Three and the Belafonte Singers. After the Highwaymen, Robbins managed the Gaslight Club on the Village's famous MacDougal Street.

Tim Robbins said in a statement to the AP that Gil Robbins was "a fantastic father" and "a great musician." The two worked together on the 1992 film Bob Roberts, about a conservative folk-singing U.S. Senate candidate. Tim directed and starred in the film, which listed Gil as a vocal coach and choral consultant.

"His commitment to social justice was evident to us from an early age, as was his infectious mischievous sense of humor," Tim Robbins said. "His passing has created great sadness for all of us and our mother but we take comfort in knowing that the angels will soon be soothed by the songs coming from his beautiful baritone voice."