( 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 . Soon , the video was being used online as a new target for the bait-and-switch Rickroll meme in which a user posts a link to something supposedly relevant or interesting but turns out to be a ridiculous or annoying video or image instead . The original video was viewed more than 12 million times , with alternate versions and parodies racking up millions more . Khil became aware of the song 's viral success after hearing his grandson humming the tune , according to Know Your Meme . Khil performed it several times afterward , with family members even starting a YouTube channel for him . On Monday , Khil was remembered on the same social-media sites where his video spread . Several tributes had been voted up to the main page of Reddit , and both his real name and `` Mr. Trololo '' were trending on Twitter . `` Oh no , Mr. Trololo ( i.e . Eduard Khil ) has died , '' Jon Fingas , an editor for tech blog Engadget , wrote on the site . `` The world is a sadder place . ... I 'm glad the Internet gave him a lasting memory ! ''
Eduard ##i was a popular Soviet - era singer of the ' 60s and ' 70s . Khil found renewed fame decades later online as ` ` Mr. Trololo '' His words - free performance came after Soviet censors changed a song 's lyrics . The music video is a new version of the Rickroll meme .