Folk and country singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith dies aged 68

Grammy Award-winning country and folk singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith has died at the age of 68.

Her management company – Gold Mountain Entertainment – confirmed the news over the weekend, however the company also stated that it was Griffith's wish that “no further formal statement or press release happen for a week following her passing." Her cause of death is yet to be revealed.

Born in 1953 in Seguin, Texas, Griffith performed as a teenager in the local Austin music scene, before releasing her debut album, There's a Light Beyond These Woods, via a local label in 1978.

She moved to Nashville in 1985, where she later secured her first major label deal with MCA Records, with whom she released four albums: Lone Star State of Mind (1987), Little Love Affairs (1988), Storms (1989) and Late Night Grande Hotel (1991).

Griffith later won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1994 with her LP, Other Voices, Other Rooms.

Songs penned by Griffith over the course of her decades-spanning career include Outbound Plane and Love at the Five and Dime.

The former garnered Griffith mainstream success when country artist Suzy Bogguss covered and landed a Top 10 spot with the track in 1991.

Bogguss led tributes to the singer-songwriter on social media, writing: “My heart is aching. A beautiful soul that I love has left this Earth. I feel blessed to have many memories of our times together along with most everything she ever recorded.”

Country singer-songwriter Darius Rucker also paid tribute, writing: “Today I am just sad man. I lost one of my idols. One of the reasons I am in Nashville. She blew my mind the first time I heard Marie & Omie. And singing with her was my favorite thing to do.”