Blues pianist, singer, and composer Charles Brown died Thursday of heart failure at Summit Medical Center in Oakland, Calif. He was 76.

The Texas crooner was best known for his "cool blues" style, a mellow musical approach that gained him notoriety throughout his travels on the West Coast urban blues circuit. His many hits, including "Merry Christmas Baby" and "Drifting Blues," bolstered his popularity in the mid-'40s and early '50s, while his jazz-influenced piano style and filigree baritone delivery left an impact on several similar artists, including Floyd Dixon and Ray Charles.

After several decades of semi-retirement, where he played back rooms and bars with a slapdash crew of side men, Brown was asked by Bonnie Raitt to open for her on her 1989 tour. A contract for Brown on Rounder's Bullseye Blues label followed that stint, as did a slew of releases, including four sets of new and reissued material just last October. In the meantime, the exposure on Raitt's tour helped catapult Brown to the world jazz and blues circuit, where he played festivals with a crack combo he had organized.

Brown was scheduled to be inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on March 15. Information on survivors was not available at deadline.