Charlie Louvin, 83, singer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Charlie Louvin, 83, half of the Louvin Brothers duo whose harmonies inspired fellow country and pop singers for decades, died Wednesday of complications from pancreatic cancer.

Brett Steele, his manager, said the Country Music Hall of Fame singer died at his home in Wartrace, Tenn.

Mr. Louvin was diagnosed with cancer last year and vowed to fight it. He continued to schedule performances and even put out an album. He was one of several stars invited to a welcome-home performance of the Grand Ole Opry last year after floods damaged the Opry house.

The unique sound of Charlie Louvin and his brother, Ira, was highly influential in the history of both country and rock, and they were inducted into the hall in 2001.

Among their hits were "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby" (a No. 1 single in 1965), "When I Stop Dreaming," "Hoping That You're Hoping," and "You're Running Wild."

The brothers decided to disband their duo in 1963. Ira Louvin died in a Missouri car accident two years later.

Charlie Louvin recorded regularly after his brother died, most recently releasing The Battle Rages On, a collection of war songs, last winter. His biggest solo hits were "See the Big Man Cry" in 1965 and "I Don't Love You Anymore" in 1964.

The Louvins influenced harmony acts from the Everly Brothers onward. Emmylou Harris had a hit with their "If I Could Only Win Your Love" in 1975. The Notting Hillbillies recorded the Louvins' "Weapon of Prayer" in 1990.

Their association with rock-and-roll occurred early on, when Gram Parsons introduced the Louvins' sound to the Byrds and other willing acolytes in the late 1960s, most notably on the Byrds' groundbreaking country-rock album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo.

Interest in Charlie Louvin's music resurged as he reached his 80s. In 2007, his first studio album in years, Charlie Louvin, boasting appearances from such artists as George Jones and Elvis Costello, was nominated for a Grammy as best traditional folk album. A year later, his Steps To Heaven was nominated as best Southern, country, or bluegrass gospel album.

Mr. Louvin said in a 1979 interview that he and his brother, reunited, would have become country-music superstars. "If we were together today, we could be the hottest group."