Tillis Recovering From Surgery

Country Music Hall of Famer Mel Tillis has undergone heart surgery and is recovering in a Nashville hospital, daughter Pam Tillis announced March 10.

Photo: Alonzo Adams / Invision / AP

Toby Keith's Oklahoma Twister Relief Concert, Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Okla.

“Over the weekend, Daddy required a routine heart procedure,” Pam Tillis said in a statement. “He’s doing fantastic and is expected to make a full recovery. In typical Mel Tillis fashion, he’s already cutting up and cracking jokes with the nurses. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.”

Mel Tillis has recorded more than 60 albums, had 35 Top Ten singles, been named the Country Music Association’s entertainer of the year and written more than 1,000 songs, including some 600 that have been recorded by other artists.

Among those hits are Kenny Rogers’ “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town,” George Strait’s “Thoughts Of A Fool” and Ricky Skaggs’ “Honey, Open That Door.”

Tillis received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2012.