LEGACY: A CountryHound Tribute
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12/23/2007 Jan. 1 - Grand Ole Opry member Del Reeves dies of emphysema at his home in Centerville, Tenn. His hits included “Girl on the Billboard” and “Looking at the World Through a Windshield." Jan. 5 - Songwriter Dennis Linde, who passed away on Dec. 22, 2006, is celebrated with a New Orleans-style funeral procession. Linde was the writer of Elvis Presley’s “Burning Love,” and the Dixie Chicks’ “Goodbye Earl.” Jan 13 - Doyle Holly, former bass player for Buck Owens’ Buckaroos, dies of prostate cancer in a Nashville hospice. Jan 28 - Alex LeVasseur, the 13-year-old son of songwriter Jeffrey Steele (“What Hurts the Most”), dies after being thrown from a four-wheeler in Franklin, Tenn. Feb 2 - Harmonica player/percussionist Terry McMillan dies in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., after a bout with pneumonia. His credits include hits by Shania Twain, George Jones and Faith Hill, and the scorching solo on Garth Brooks' “Ain't Going Down (Til The Sun Comes Up).” Apr 17 - Songwriter-producer Glenn Sutton suffers a fatal heart attack in Nashville. In addition to producing Lynn Anderson's “Rose Garden,” he wrote such hits as “Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad,” “Almost Persuaded,” and “What's Made Milwaukee Famous.” Apr 27 - Irving Waugh dies of heart failure in Nashville. A former president of WSM-TV, he was a longtime executive producer of the Country Music Association awards. Jul. 3 - Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III, 80, one of the architects of the "Nashville Sound," and best-known for his hit "Yakety Sax," dies in Nashville after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Aug 4 - Singer-songwriter and producer Lee Hazlewood, best known for writing and producing the Nancy Sinatra smash, “These Boots Are Made for Walkin,’” dies at 78 from renal cancer. Most famous for his work with the daughter of Frank Sinatra, he also produced hits for rock guitar legend Duane Eddy and Gram Parsons. Sept. 3 - Janis Martin, 67, dies of cancer at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. A teenage rockabilly sensation of the 1950s, she was billed as ‘the female Elvis.” Sept. 25 - Patrick Bourque, former bass player for Emerson Drive, dies at his home in Canada. Patrick resigned from Emerson Drive in August and had been living and working in Canada since then. His death was ruled a suicide. Oct. 28 – Grand Ole Opry legend and Country Music Hall of Fame member Porter Wagoner, 80, succumbs to lung cancer at Alive Hospice in Nashville. On May 19, the Opry honored Porter for his 50 years as an Opry member and celebrated with him the acclaim of what would be his final recording project, Wagonmaster, produced by his friend and fellow Opry star Marty Stuart. Nov. 6 – Country Music Hall of Fame member Hank Thompson dies at his home in Keller, Texas, following a battle with aggressive lung cancer. Word of his death comes just four days after the 82-year-old announced his retirement, and less than a month after his last performance, at Waco’s Heart of Texas Fair. Between 1948 and 1974, he produced 29 top ten hits and continued to chart into the 1980s. His first No. 1 record was 1952’s “The Wild Side of Life.” Nov. 18 – Steel guitar player John Hughey, 73, dies of heart complications. In addition to recording and touring with Vince Gill for about 12 years, he toured with Conway Twitty and also recorded songs with Elvis Presley, Loretta Lynn, Marty Stuart, Willie Nelson, Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers and others. He spent Monday nights in Nashville at the Station Inn for several years, playing with the Western swing band The Time Jumpers. Dec. 17 – Singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, 56, best-known for country-influenced pop hits as “Longer,” and “Same Old Lang Syne,” died at his Maine home after a long battle with prostate cancer. Special thanks to www.rolandnote.com
