Legendary Country Singer Ray Price Dies at 87

Longtime country singer Ray Price died at his home on Monday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 87. Price had recently been hospitalized in Texas and had been battling pancreatic cancer since late last year.

The singer entered hospice care on Thursday, leaving a message to fans: "I am at peace. I love Jesus. I'm going to be just fine. Don't worry about me. I'll see you again one day." Country radio veteran Bill Man announced on Facebook that Price's wife, Janie, had called him to confirm the singer's death. "Ray Price left for heaven at 4:43 PM Central Time," he writes. "He went in perfect peace."

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News of Price's passing comes one day after several media outlets erroneously reported his death based on a message from his son, Cliff, saying he heard his father had passed. The Facebook post was later taken down, and Cliff said he had been "deceived by some cruel people."

A Texas native, Ray Price enlisted in the Marines at 18. Two years later, he began performing on radio stations in the late 1940s. Price moved to Nashville after signing with Columbia Records and scored hits with "Talk to You Heart," "Don't Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes," and "Heartaches by the Number."  In the 1960s, Price shot to No. 2 with "Make the World Go Away," but soon after he started to experiment with his sound on songs like 1967's "Danny Boy."

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The 1970s brought new hits like "For The Good Times," but he also switched record labels several times. Although his last charted single was 1989's "Love Me Down to Size," Price continued to perform and record. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996 and released his last album, "Last of the Breed," in 2007. One of the tunes, "Lost Highway" with Willie Nelson, won him a Grammy the following year.

Price had been working on a new album, Love Songs In Nashville, while fighting pancreatic cancer. The record is expected to be released next year.