NASHVILLE, March 8 (UPI) -- Irby Mandrell, whose daughter Barbara enjoyed a successful country music career, has died in Nashville at the age of 84, his famous daughter says.
Mandrell helped his oldest daughter find success in the U.S. music industry performing alongside Barbara in the Mandrell Family Band during the 1960s, the Los Angeles Times noted Sunday.
Later, Mandrell became his daughter's business manager as her career blossomed as a solo artist.
Barbara, whose solo hits include "Midnight Oil" and "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed," credited her father with her success.
"He was not only my manager," she said of her father, who died of a stroke last Thursday, "he was my daddy, so he had my best interests at heart ... . He wanted me to know the details of the business end, because it was show business, not just show."
The Times said in addition to Barbara, Mandrell is survived by his wife Mary, two other daughters and seven grandchildren.
