Charlie Louvin, of Louvin Brothers, has died

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

The unique sound of Charlie and his brother, Ira, was highly influential in the history of both country and rock and they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Among their hits were "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby," "When I Stop Dreaming," "Hoping That You're Hoping" and "You're Running Wild."

Charlie Louvin was born Charles Loudermilk in Henager, Ala., in 1927. He and Ira, born in 1924, worked in the fields on the family farm and began singing together as teenagers, developing the harmony that would become their trademark.

The brothers decided to disband in 1963. Ira died in a Missouri car accident two years later. Charlie later recalled that differences in personality and Ira's drinking created friction between them, but said they probably would have reunited if Ira had lived.

They influenced acts from the Everly Brothers onward. Emmylou Harris had a hit with their "If I Could Only Win Your Love" in 1975. Interest in his music resurged as Louvin reached his 80s. In 2007, his first studio album in years, "Charlie Louvin," boasted appearances from the likes of George Jones and Elvis Costello and was nominated for a Grammy as best traditional folk album.

During one stretch of touring in 1955, Elvis Presley was the brothers' opening act. That second billing didn't last long, Louvin recalled.

"He got big quick, very quick, but he was a good kid," Louvin told The Associated Press in 2007.

Their association with rock and roll would get stronger 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."

Louvin will have a private funeral Sunday in Nashville, according to his manager.