Nanci Griffith — the Texas-born singer-songwriter who became a signature voice in folk, country, and Americana — has died at age 68. According to the Associated Press, the artist's management company confirmed the sad news but did not provide a cause of death.

A former kindergarten teacher, Griffith released her debut album There's a Light Beyond These Woods in 1978 and quickly built a devoted following for poignant story-songs like "Love at the Five and Dime" (1986), "Ford Econoline" (1987), and "Outbound Plane" (1988, co-written with Tom Russell). Her distinctive singing voice had an almost childlike timbre, but her sure-footed melodies and knowing, sympathetic lyrics revealed her as an old soul.

Griffith's songs were often covered (Kathy Mattea, for example, popularized "Love at the Five and Dime"), and Griffith was similarly generous with her own cover versions. In 1994, her covers album Other Voices, Other Rooms won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Her 1987 recording of "From a Distance" helped raise the profile of Julie Gold's song, which went on to become a contemporary standard recorded by artists including Bette Midler and the Byrds.

A beloved collaborator, over the course of her career Griffith shared stages and recording studios with peers including Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Webb, Lyle Lovett, Adam Duritz (Counting Crows), and the Chieftains. She settled in Nashville but frequently returned to her birth state, becoming a regular guest on Austin City Limits.

"I lost one of my idols. One of the reasons I am in Nashville," tweeted singer-songwriter Darius Rucker in response to the news of Griffith's death. "Singing with her was [one of] my favorite things to do."