(CNN) -- Eduard Khil, a Soviet-era singing star who found renewed popularity as the viral Web's "Mr. Trololo," died Monday, Russian media reported.
Khil had been in a St. Petersburg, Russia, hospital since suffering a stroke in April. He was 77.
Khil was considered one of the Soviet Union's great performers in the '60s and '70s. But his claim to fame in the rest of the world came in 2009 after a YouTube video posting of him performing the Russian pop song "I Am Glad, 'Cause I'm Finally Returning Back Home."
With a toothy grin, Khil delivers a clearly lip-synced performance minus lyrics, instead using a series of made-up syllables, including the "trololololo" that captured the hearts of millions.
According to New Music Express, the original lyrics, about a cowboy riding his horse home to meet his sweetheart Mary, were censored because they were deemed "un-Soviet." That led to his "mouth music" version, which ends up sounding like a mash-up of yodeling and jazz-era scat singing over a cheesy orchestral arrangement.
