Died On This Date (September 12, 2011) Don Wayne / Wrote Numerous Country Hits

Don Wayne (Born Donald Choate)
May 30, 1933 – September 12, 2011

Don Wayne was a respected Nashville songwriter whose songs have been recorded by a who’s who of country music legends.  Born in Nashville, Wayne took a shine to country music at an early age, often catching his favorite singers on the Grand Ole Opry program on his radio.  In 1953, George Morgan recorded his “Lonesome Waltz” for Columbia Records, making it Wayne’s first major label recording.   In later years, his songs were made into hits by the likes of Lefty Frizzell (“Saginaw, Michigan”), Cal Smith (“Country Bumpkin”), Del Reeves (“The Belles Of Southern Bell”), and Faron Young (“Walk Tall,” which was later recorded by punk band, Stiff Little Fingers).  Wayne’s songs have also been put onto vinyl by Hank Williams Jr., Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, George Jones, and Jerry Garcia, to name a few.  Wayne also recorded a handful of his own albums, and over the years, he was either recognized or given awards to by virtually every country music organization.  Don Wayne was 78 when he passed away on September 12, 2011.  Although cause of death was not immediately released, he was reportedly in hospice care just prior to his death.



Died On This Date (March 16, 2011) Carlton Haney / Bluegrass Promoter

Carlton Haney
DOB Unknown – March 16, 2011

Photo by Marcia Goodman

Carlton Haney was a bluegrass and country music promoter who first came into the business while he was dating Bill Monroe’s daughter during the 1950s. It was during that time that he began booking shows for Monroe and eventually began managing bluegrass act, Reno & Smiley.  During the ’60s he became one of the first, if not THE first promoter to put together package shows that featured both bluegrass and country artists.  That lead to one of the America’s first successful multi-day bluegrass festivals which he launched over Labor Day weekend, 1965 in Fincastle, Virginia.  Over the course of his career, he was cited as a major contributor to the ultimate successes of such artists as Loretta Lynn, the Osbourne Brothers, Porter Waggoner, and Waylon Jennings, on whose Okie From Muskogee and The Fightin’ Side Of Me live albums, Haney can be heard introducing the singer.  He also penned a handful of bluegrass and country hits for others over the years.  Carlton Haney was 82 when he passed away on March 16, 2011.

Thanks to Janice Brooks at Bus of Real Country for the assist.

Died On This Date (January 20, 2011) Jim Williamson / Legendary Nashville Recording Engineer

Jim Williamson
DOB Unknown – January 20, 2011

Jim Williamson was a respected Nashville recording engineer who worked on several of the most iconic recordings in pop music history.  His behind-the-board talent can be heard on such records as Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Lynn Anderson‘s “Rose Garden,” and Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.”  He also worked on recordings by Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and Kris Kristofferson, to name a few.  Jim Williamson passed away from pulmonary disease on January 11, 2011.  He was 75.

Thanks to Jon Grimson for the assist.



Died On This Date (May 9, 1999) Shel Silverstein / Respected Singer-Songwriter

Shel Silverstein
September 25, 1932 – May 9, 1999

Shel Silverstein was, among many other things, a musician, composer, and singer-songwriter.  Over the course of his career, he released no fewer than a dozen albums and amassed a catalog of songs which include those that have been recorded by Dr. Hook, Belinda CarlisleEmmylou Harris, Bobby Bare, Lou Rawls, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Loretta Lynn, to name just a few.  Silverstein’s most celebrated songs were “The Cover of the Rolling Stone,” a huge hit for Dr. Hook, and “A Boy Named Sue,” whose iconic Johnny Cash recording won him a songwriter Grammy in 1970.   On May 10, 1999, Shel Silverstein was found in his home, dead of a heart attack.  Although official reports indicate that he could have died on either May 9th or 10th, most sources cite the 9th as the day of his passing.

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Died On This Date (April 6, 1998) Tammy Wynette / The First Lady Of Country Music

Tammy Wynette
May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998

Tammy Wynette was rightfully known as the “First Lady of Country Music” due in part to her domination of the country music charts during the late ’60s and early ’70s. With hits like “Stand By Your Man,” and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” she personified female country singers of the era. Her songs reached the top of the country music charts 17 times and earned her two Grammys. In 1969, Wynette married George Jones, with whom she had several more hits as his duet partner. A couple little know facts about Wynette were that she was a stand-out basketball player in high school, and that she renewed her cosmetology license every year so she’d have something to fall back on. She was also the voice of Hank Hill’s mother on King Of The Hill. As is generally the case with country stars of the ’60s and ’70s, Wynette’s popularity waned in the ’80s, but she found a new popularity in 1991 when she teamed up with British electronic band the KLF on “Justified And Ancient (Stand By The JAMs)”,  a number one hit throughout much of the world. A couple of years later, she joined forces with Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn for the great Honky Tonk Angels album. Wynette suffered from numerous health problems throughout her life resulting in over two dozen major surgeries. Her body finally gave in on April 6, 1998, when she died in her sleep from a pulmonary blood clot.

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Tammy Wynette