Mel Tillis, as famed for his recording career and songwriting as he was for his lifelong stutter, died early Sunday morning at Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala, Florida, following a lengthy illness, a representative confirmed. He was 85. As a songwriter, he was known for hits that included the Bobby Bare single "Detroit City," Webb Pierce's "I'm Tired" and the 1969 crossover tune for Kenny Rogers & the First Edition, "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town." As a recording artist and performer, the affable Tillis was the CMA's Entertainer of the Year in 1976, a mainstream country-music superstar at a time when the genre was dominated by pop-leaning country and the burgeoning outlaw movement.