Future Hall of Fame Inductee Jimmy Dean Dies

Jimmy-Dean
Months before his Country Music Hall of Fame induction, Country legend Jimmy Dean, 81, passed away. Dean, known for his Country television show, classic music and sausage, died at his home in Virginia Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
 
The Country star started his career in the 1950s when he hosted a local show in Washington, D.C. In the 60s, he had his own prime-time show called The Jimmy Dean Show. He televised the Hall of Fame inductions of Eddy Arnold, Uncle Dave Macon, Grand Ole Opry founder George D. Hay and music publisher Jim Denny.
 
But it wasn’t just his television show that made Dean rise to Country music’s top. He had many famous hit singles, including “Big Bad John,” which was the first Country single to go gold in 1958. “I.O.U” and “PT-109” are other well-known hits. Outside of Country Music, Dean founded Jimmy Dean Sausage.
 
Rumor has it Dean was a stickler for promptness and would walk out on people if they were late, whether it was a journalist or CEO. Dean believed time was money and he wasn’t going to waste his. Dean’s beliefs lost Roy Clark TV time on The Jimmy Dean Show. However, they remained friends and Clark hoped to induct Dean to the Hall of Fame.
 
“If they ask me and I do present him with his medalian, as I put it around his neck, I’m gonna say, ‘I beat ya!’” Clark told GAC recently. Dean was Clark’s mentor and Clark said he is devastated about Dean’s passing.
 
“We have been dear friends all these years,” Clark said. “Even when he fired me, we never had a cross word. It was just like, ‘Roy, you’re gonna be successful, but right now I can’t afford you.’ He put his arm around my shoulder, and that’s the way it’s been. He’s done so much for me through the years. He was the first one that had me on The Tonight Show. And I learned the business side — that there’s more to a career in music than just pickin’ and singin’ on stage. There’s a business side that you have to pay attention to.”
 
Dean will still be inducted on Oct. 24. According to CMT.com, he will be laid to rest in a $350,000 piano-shaped Mausoleum that he purchased several years ago. The tomb is located on his property in Varina, Va., and will include the epitaph, "Here lies one hell of a man."
 
Sources: CMT, GAC