Charlie Louvin, a member of one of the pre-eminent brother acts in country music and an inspiration to several generations of rock musicians, died Wednesday at his home in Wartrace, Tenn. He was 83.

The cause was complications of pancreatic cancer, said Michael Manning, a friend of Mr. Louvin's and the producer of his single "Back When We Were Young," his final recording, released last year. Mr. Louvin underwent cancer surgery on July 22, 2010.

Mr. Louvin achieved his greatest fame with the Louvin Brothers, the popular duo who modernized the close-harmony singing of Depression-era acts like the Blue Sky Boys and the Delmore Brothers and who anticipated the keening vocal interplay of the Everly Brothers. Typically featuring Mr. Louvin on guitar and lead vocals and Ira, his older brother, on mandolin and high tenor harmonies, the Louvins' 1950s hits also left their mark on the country-rock of the Byrds and others. [NY Times]

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