Billy Edd Wheeler (December 9, 1932 – September 16, 2024) was an American songwriter, performer, writer, and visual artist. His songs include "

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

" (

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

award winner for

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

and

June Carter June is the sixth and current month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. Its length is 30 days. June succeeds May and precedes July. This month marks the start of summe ...

) " The Reverend Mr. Black", "Desert Pete", "Ann", " High Flyin' Bird", "The Coming of the Roads", " It’s Midnight", "Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back", "Coal Tattoo", "Winter Sky", and "

Coward of the County "Coward of the County" is a song written by Roger Bowling and Billy Edd Wheeler and recorded by American country music singer Kenny Rogers. The song was released in November 1979 as the second and final single from Rogers' multi-platinum album '' ...

" (which inspired a 1981 television movie of the same name) and have been performed by over 160 artists including

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning nearly seven decades. An Academy Awards, Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning rec ...

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1965. One of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the San Francisco Bay Area, ...

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk music, folk, soul music, soul (both of which he frequently cover song, covered), and rhythm and b ...

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

Hazel Dickens Hazel Jane Dickens (June 1, 1925 – April 22, 2011) was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist, guitarist and banjo player. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provoca ...

Florence and the Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band formed in London in 2007 by lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, drummer Christopher Lloyd Hayden and harp ...

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reac ...

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

, and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. "Jackson" was also recorded by

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix ( ; ; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Widely described as one of the most preeminent actors of his generation and known for Joaquin Phoenix filmography, his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric charact ...

and

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

for the movie ''

Walk the Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies by the American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash: '' Man in Black: His Own ...

''. His song "Sassafras" was covered in the folk rock era by

Modern Folk Quartet The Modern Folk Quartet (or MFQ) was an American folk music revival group that formed in the early 1960s. Originally emphasizing acoustic instruments and group harmonies, they performed extensively and recorded two albums. In 1965, as the Mode ...

and

The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band (WCPAEB) was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. The group created music that possessed an eerie, and at times sinister atmosphere, and contained material that ...

. Wheeler was the author-composer of eight plays and musicals, a folk opera (''Song of the Cumberland Gap''), commissioned by the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

, and three outdoor dramas: the long-running ''Hatfields & McCoys'' at

Beckley, West Virginia Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 17,286 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, ninth-most populous city in th ...

, ''Young Abe Lincoln'' at Lincoln Amphitheatre,

Lincoln City, Indiana Lincoln City is an unincorporated community in Carter Township, Spencer County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. It lies five minutes south of Interstate 64, northeast of Evansville, and approximately twenty miles north of ...

, and ''Johnny Appleseed'', at

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. He has authored six books of humor, four with

Loyal Jones Loyal Jones (January 5, 1928 – October 7, 2023) was an American folklorist, Appalachian culture scholar, and writer. Biography Loyal Jones was born in Marble, North Carolina, on January 5, 1928, one of eight siblings in a farming family. At the ...

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: ''Laughter in Appalachia'', ''Hometown Humor USA'', ''Curing the Cross-Eyed Mule'', and ''More Laughter in Appalachia'', and two as sole author: ''Outhouse Humor'', and ''Real Country Humor / Jokes from Country Music Personalities''. His first novel, ''Star of Appalachia'', was published in January 2004, and his second, co-written with Ewel Cornett, ''Kudzu Covers Manhattan'', in 2005. ''Song of a Woods Colt'', a book of poetry, was published in 1969. ''Travis and Other Poems of the Swannanoa Valley (With Some Poems and Prayers by Dr. Henry W. Jensen)'' was published in 1977. He was the featured author in ''Appalachian Heritage'' magazine's 2008 winter issue, which included 16 of his original paintings.

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

’s ''

Our State ''Our State'' (full title: ''Our State: Celebrating North Carolina'') is a monthly magazine based in Greensboro, North Carolina, featuring travel and history articles and photographs about North Carolina people, places and events. First publishe ...

'' magazine featured him in its December 2007 issue. In 2018, Wheeler published a book of memoirs entitled ''Hotter Than A Pepper Sprout, a Hillybilly poet's journey from Appalachia to Yale to writing hits for Elvis, Johnny Cash & More''.

Biography

Wheeler was born on December 9, 1932, in

Boone County, West Virginia Boone County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,809. Its county seat is Madison. Boone County is part of the Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Leading industries and chie ...

. He graduated from

Warren Wilson College Warren Wilson College (WWC) is a private liberal arts college in Swannanoa, North Carolina. It is known for its curriculum that combines academics, work, and service as every student must complete a required course of study, work an on-campus j ...

in 1953, and

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. It was integrated from as early as 1866 ...

in 1955. After serving as a student pilot in the Navy, he served as Alumni Director of Berea College. Wheeler recorded a couple of albums for Monitor Records, then from 1961 to 1962 he attended the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...

, majoring in playwriting. With Ewel Cornett, he co-wrote the musical ''Hatfields and McCoys'', which has been performed annually since 1970 by Theatre West Virginia in the Grandview Cliffside Amphitheatre (part of the

New River Gorge National River The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is a United States national park and preserve designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains. Established in 1978 as a national river ...

area). He was married to the former Mary Mitchell Bannerman. They had two adult children, Lucy and Travis, and lived in

Swannanoa, North Carolina Swannanoa is a census-designated place (CDP) in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population 5,021 at the 2020 census up from 4,576 at the 2010 census. The community is named for the Swannanoa River, which flows through the ...

. In the 1968 book by Milt Okun ''Something to Sing About: the personal choices of America's folk singers'', Wheeler's choice was "Turtle Dove" (" Fare Thee Well"). He died at his home in

, on September 16, 2024, at the age of 91.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Awards

Wheeler was inducted into the

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that i ...

in 2001, the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2007, and the

North Carolina Music Hall of Fame The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization and museum in Kannapolis, North Carolina that was created to honor musicians, composers and artists with ties to North Carolina that have made significant impact in the music indu ...

in 2011. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from his two alma maters:

in 2004, and

in 2011. He has received 13 awards from

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

, the "Best Appalachian Poetry" from Morris Harvey College, and

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

’s "Pacesetter Award for Music and Drama". In June 2005,

Country Music Television Country Music Television, often abbreviated to CMT, is an American pay TV network that launched on March 5, 1983. It is currently owned by Paramount Global through the MTV Entertainment Group unit of its networks division. CMT was the first na ...

voted "Jackson" one of the 100 Greatest Duet Songs of Country Music.

Bibliography

* ''Song of a Woods Colt'', Droke House (Anderson, SC) 1969 * ''Travis & Other Poems of the Swannanoa Valley'', Wild Goose, Inc.

References

External links

Billy Edd Wheeler
official web site * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Billy Edd 1932 births 2024 deaths American country singer-songwriters American male poets 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights People from Boone County, West Virginia Berea College alumni American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Singer-songwriters from West Virginia