Durable ‘Nashville Cat’ Wayne Moss Passes

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Wayne Moss performs at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum during his Nashville Cats program in 2009. Photo: Donn Jones, courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

A vital presence on the Nashville music scene for seven decades, Wayne Moss has died at age 88.

He was a first-choice session guitarist, a record producer, the owner of Nashville’s oldest independent recording studio and the co-founder of the seminal country-rock bands Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry.

Born in 1938 in South Charleston, West Virginia, Moss spent his teenage years playing in local bands. He made the move to Nashville in 1959. Fellow musicians recognized his talent and began recruiting him to play on Music Row recording sessions.

The first hit song that Moss played on was “Sheila” by Tommy Roe (1962). Moss also played guitar on “Oh Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison (1964) and on Bob Dylan’s acclaimed LP Blonde on Blonde (1966). He also played on R&B star Joe Simon’s 1969 album The Chokin’ Kind and its Grammy Award winning title track.

His work on guitar and/or bass can be heard on the records of more than 30 Country Music Hall of Fame members, including Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, The Everly Brothers, Roger Miller, Kris Kristofferson, Eddy Arnold, Willie Nelson, Bobby Bare, Marty Robbins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Grandpa Jones, Porter Wagoner and Charlie McCoy.

Wayne Moss was in the studio band for Dolly Parton’s signature tunes “Jolene” (1973), “I Will Always Love You” (1974) and “Coat of Many Colors” (1971). Moss was also a guitarist on Tammy Wynette’s iconic “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” and “Stand By Your Man” (1968). His guitar solo on “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line” by Waylon Jennings (1968) inspired Marty Stuart to begin playing. Moss also played on the Charlie Rich mega hit “Behind Closed Doors” (1973).

Moss was on recordings by such pop artists as Fats Domino, Joan Baez, Carl Perkins, The Beau Brummels, Artimus Pyle, Nancy Sinatra, The Monkees, Ronny & The Daytonas, Al Kooper, Leonard Cohen, Perry Como, Esther Phillips, Simon & Garfunkel and Peter, Paul & Mary, as well as Orbison, Dylan, Simon and Roe. He toured with Rock & Roll and Country Hall of Famer Brenda Lee as a member of her band, The Casuals, in 1959-62. Back in Nashville, he joined The Escorts, one of the city’s earliest rock & roll bands.

He and fellow West Virginia musician McCoy ran a Nashville nightclub called The Sack. When it wen out of business in 1961, they used the venue’s equipment to build a recording studio in Moss’s garage in Madison. Dubbed Cinderella Sound, the small studio has hosted recording sessions by artists including Jackie DeShannon, The Steve Miller Band, Linda Ronstadt, Grand Funk Railroad, The James Gang, Tracy Nelson, Faron Young, The Louvin Brothers and Merle Kilgore. Cinderella Sound was unusual in that it didn’t advertise and wasn’t even listed in the phone book. It has succeeded via word-of-mouth for its entire 65-year existence.

In 1969, some of Music Row’s top session musicians formed the group Area Code 615. Members included Moss and McCoy, plus Mac Gayden, Bobby Thompson, Buddy Spicher, David Briggs, Norbert Putnam, Kenny Buttrey, Ken Lauber and Weldon Myrick. Area Code 615 was a unique fusion band combining elements of rock, jazz, country and funk. It recorded two albums for Polydor Records before most of its members returned to their more lucrative session work.

Moss, Buttrey and Gayden next formed Barefoot Jerry with keyboard player John Harris. The pioneering country-rock group recorded for Capitol, Warner Bros. and Monument. Its disc debut was the 1971 LP Southern Delight. Buttrey and Gayden left. Moss and Harris recruited Russ Hicks and Kenny Malone for 1972’s LP Barefoot Jerry. The lineup expanded into a nine-member ensemble for 1974’s Watchin’ TV and Barefoot Jerry Live (recorded in 1973, released in 2007). Membership varied, but the band continued under Moss’s leadership. The title tune of You Can’t Get Off with Your Shoes On scraped the bottom of the pop charts in 1975. Keys to the Country (1976) and Barefootin’ (1977) rounded out the band’s discography. In addition to being a group member, Wayne Moss produced the Barefoot Jerry records.

Barefoot Jerry was name checked in the Charlie Daniels hit “The South’s Gonna Do It Again” in 1975. Billed as “Barefoot Jerry,” Wayne Moss appeared in the landmark 1981 documentary Heartworn Highways alongside Daniels, Guy Clark, David Allan Coe, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Young and other country “outlaws.”

In the 1980s, Wayne Moss returned to studio work. He spent 15 years in the house band of TV’s Hee Haw. He also had some success as a songwriter. Among those who have recorded his tunes are Hall of Famers The Oak Ridge Boys, Chet Atkins, Brenda Lee and Willie Nelson.

Cinderella Sound continued to be active in the ‘80s, ‘90s and beyond. Jerry Reed, Connie Smith, Ricky Skaggs, Tony Joe White, John Hartford, Kathy Mattea and Mel McDaniel have been among the studio’s dozens of clients. Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Gretchen Peters recorded her Mickey Newbury tribute album at Cinderella Sound in 2020.

The Country Music Hall of Fame honored Wayne Moss as a Nashville Cat in 2009. Moss was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Three years later, author Michael Selke published the biography Nashville Cat: The Wayne Moss Story.

Wayne Moss passed away on Monday, April 20. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

Noted Percussionist/Producer/Songwriter Craig Krampf Passes

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Craig Krampf, who drummed on dozens of Nashville recordings, died on April 16 at age 80.

He was formerly the Secretary/Treasurer of Nashville Local 257 of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM).

Krampf was a West Coast rock artist who migrated to Music City to become a session musician in the 1990s. He also worked as a record producer, notably on Nashville rocker Ashley Cleveland’s 1991 Big Town and 1993 Bus Named Desire collections for Atlantic and on the 1994 album by the Americana act Disappear Fear for Rounder.

His session credits in Nashville included percussion work on records by Tanya Tucker, Dan Seals, The Remingtons, Townes Van Zandt, Radney Foster, The Sky Kings, Patty Loveless, Pam Tillis, Ty Herndon, LeAnn Rimes, Jack Ingram, The Randy Rogers Band, The Kinleys, Billy Burnette and Burrito Deluxe. He did percussion and production work on Dolly Parton’s 1987 Rainbow album. He was also a mainstay of Alabama’s recording sessions, appearing on the group’s million-selling Southern Star, Pass It On Down, American Pride, Cheap Seats and In Pictures albums in 1989-95.

Over the years, he also logged session credits with such Nashville pop artists as Webb Wilder, Van Stephenson, Steve Cropper, Jason Ringenberg, Jill Sobule, Will Kimbrough, Newsboys, Bonepony, The Features, Essra Mohawk, Josh Leo, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Tom Kimmel and Jonell Mosser.

The Wisconsin native originally rose to prominence in L.A. in 1965-89, working in the studio with Alice Cooper, Cher, Lita Ford, Paul Stanley, Joan Armatrading, Flo & Eddie, Art Garfunkel, Santana and Warren Zevon, among others. Krampf played on hits such as Nick Gilder’s “Hot Child in the City” (1978), “Only the Lonely” by The Motels (1982), and Melissa Etheridge’s “Bring Me Some Water” (1989) from her debut album that he co-produced.

He was particularly noted for his work with Kim Carnes on her 1980s albums Romance Dance, Mistaken Identity, Voyeur, Café Racers, Barking at Airplanes, Light House and View from the House. Krampf can be heard on the Carnes hit singles “Bette Davis Eyes” (1981) and “Crazy in the Night” (1986).

While on the West Coast, he was a member of such rock bands as Silver Condor, Alien Project, The Robbs and Cherokee. The Robbs were signed to Mercury and were the house band on Dick Clark’s 1965-67 ABC-TV series Where the Action Is.

As a songwriter, Krampf’s biggest hit was with Steve Perry’s “Oh Sherrie” (co-written with Perry, Randy Goodrrum, and Bill Cuomo), which peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s pop chart in 1984. Krampf also co-wrote Perry’s “Strung Out,” which made it to No. 40. He also co-wrote “I’ll Be Here Where the Heart Is” on the Grammy-winning Flashdance soundtrack album of 1983.

Craig Krampf was the father-in-law of WPLN radio producer and WNXP program director Jason Moon Wilkins. He is married to Krampf’s daughter Carrie. Craig Krampf and his wife Susie, who passed away in 2004, were married for 34 years and have three daughters, Carrie, Courtney and Katie.

BREAKING: Hall Of Fame Songwriter Don Schlitz Passes At 73

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Don Schlitz

Don Schlitz, the architect behind many of country music’s most enduring songs, passed away on April 16 at a Nashville hospital after a sudden illness. He was 73.

As a writer of such country standards as “The Gambler,” “On the Other Hand,” “Forever and Ever, Amen,” “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” “The Greatest” and “When You Say Nothing At All,” Schlitz was a member of the Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, Schlitz briefly attended Duke University before moving to Nashville at age 20. Arriving with $80 in his pocket, he set to Music Row, and his talent was recognized and fostered early on by greats, including Bob McDill and Bobby Bare.

Schlitz became one of the first performers at the now-iconic Bluebird Café in Nashville. He and friends Thom Schuyler, J. Fred Knobloch and Paul Overstreet originated the Café’s songwriter-in-the-round format in 1985. On Tuesday nights, Schlitz held court at the venue with his “Don For A Dollar” show, charging a cover of $1 each night.

Schlitz’s first-ever cut was Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler,” setting a incredible standard he would meet for the rest of his career. The then-23-year-old songwriter celebrated a massive crossover hit that traveled far and wide, winning a Grammy for Best Country Song in 1978, and the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year in 1979.

Following his first big hit, Schlitz continued to have stunning success. His 50 top 10 singles have played major roles in the careers of Rogers, Randy Travis, The Judds, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Tanya Tucker, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Keith Whitley, Alison Krauss and many others.

Schlitz notched 25 No. 1s in his career. He was the ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year from 1988 to 1991, and won three CMA Song of the Year Awards, two ACM Song of the Year awards and two Grammys across his five decades in music.

Schlitz was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Association Hall of Fame in 1993, and he went into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York in 2012. In 2017, Schlitz was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, joining only five other songwriters in the Hall at that time, including Bobby Braddock, Hank Cochran, Harlan Howard and Boudleaux and Felice Bryant.

In 2022, he became the only non-artist songwriter inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in the show’s 100-year history. He commonly performed over the last few years, joking with the audience that they may not know who he was, but they knew his songs.

Don Schlitz is survived by his wife, Stacey; his daughter Cory Dixon and her husband Matt Dixon; his son Pete Schlitz and his wife Christian Webb Schlitz; his grandchildren Roman, Gia, Isla, and Lilah; his brother Brad Schlitz; and his sister Kathy Hinkley.

Saturday night’s Grand Ole Opry performance will be dedicated in Schlitz’ honor.

A Celebration of Life will be held on April 25 at 2:30 p.m. CT in the CMA Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (224 Rep. John Lewis Way South). A reception will follow the service.

Songwriters Hall Of Fame Member Chip Taylor Passes

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Chip Taylor. Photo: Beth Gwinn/Getty Images

Singer-songwriter Chip Taylor, a 2016 inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, died in hospice care on March 23. He was 86.

Taylor was best known for writing the classic rock hit “Wild Thing,” a chart-topper for the Troggs, and “Angel of the Morning” for Juice Newton. Born James Wesley Voight in Yonkers, New York, Taylor was the younger brother of actor Jon Voight. He got his start in the music world as a singer under the name Wes Voight and made several recordings in the late ’50s and early ’60s, but later realized his true strength might be in writing songs for others. His first big success came when the Troggs recorded “Wild Thing” in 1966, which went to No. 1.

He later penned “Angel of the Morning” which first found success with the 1968 version by Merrilee Rush before Juice Newton covered it in 1981, selling more than a million copies and nearing the top of the charts. Other songs written or co-written by Taylor include Janis Joplin’s “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder),” Cliff Richard’s “On My Word,” “Billy Vera’s “Country Girl City Man” and Johnny Tillotson’s “Worry,” as well as songs recorded by Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Bobby Bare, Emmylou Harris and Anne Murray.

Along with songwriting Taylor also maintained a recording career for decades, releasing about two dozen solo projects, including his most recent release, 2025’s The Truth and Other Things. He founded his own label, Train Wreck Records, in 1997.

He is survived by his daughters, Kelly and Kristian; his brothers, Jon and Barry; and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Joan.

Beloved Artist-Songwriter Ronnie Bowman Passes

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Ronnie Bowman. Photo: Courtesy of Eclipse Music Group

Award-winning bluegrass artist and country songwriter Ronnie Bowman died Sunday (March 22) following a motorcycle accident. He was 64.

A native of Mount Airy, North Carolina, Bowman became one of bluegrass music’s most respected voices, earning widespread recognition both as a solo artist and as a longtime member of the Lonesome River Band. He joined the group in 1990 as a vocalist and bass player, remaining until 2001, and previously performed with The Lost and Found after joining that band in 1987.

Over the course of his career, Bowman received numerous honors from the International Bluegrass Music Association, including three Male Vocalist of the Year awards. His song “Three Rusty Nails” earned both Gospel Performance of the Year and Song of the Year, while “Cold Virginia Night” also took home Song of the Year honors.

Bowman launched his solo career with 1994’s Cold Virginia Night, an acclaimed project featuring Alison Krauss, Del McCoury and Tony Rice that won IBMA Album of the Year. He later released Starting Over (2003) and It’s Gettin’ Better All The Time (2006), further cementing his reputation as a leading artist in the genre.

In addition to his work as a performer, Bowman found major success as a country songwriter. He co-wrote Brooks & Dunn’s No. 1 hit “It’s Getting Better All the Time” with Don Cook, and Kenny Chesney’s chart-topping “Never Wanted Nothing More” with Chris Stapleton.

Bowman also contributed two songs to Stapleton’s multi-Platinum album Traveller, including “Nobody to Blame,” co-written with Stapleton and Barry Bales, which earned the ACM Award for Song of the Year. Continuing their collaboration, Stapleton’s 2025 single “It Takes A Woman,” co-written with Bowman, won the Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance.

His catalog was recorded by a wide range of artists, including Don Williams, Lee Ann Womack, Cody Johnson, Ralph Stanley, Jake Owen and Marcus King.

Born into a musical family, Bowman began singing gospel music at age three, performing in churches across North Carolina and Virginia alongside his four sisters.

In recent years, Bowman continued to record and perform, releasing a self-titled album and collaborating with the Band of Ruhks alongside fellow former Lonesome River Band members Don Rigsby and Kenny Smith. He also frequently performed with Dan Tyminski. In 2021, Bowman extended his publishing deal with Eclipse Music Group.

News of his death prompted an outpouring of tributes from across the bluegrass and country music communities.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

Bowman’s wife Garnet and their family shared the following statement: “Ronnie was beloved by so many in our music community, whom he loved so dearly… and we are beyond grateful for all of the love & outpouring toward us already. Right now, as we process, we just covet your prayers. We have no words at this time, but thank you and graciously request that you honor our privacy while we try to put our heads around this and grieve. What we know and hold onto, is that he is with his Savior Jesus in Heaven, although already terribly missed here on Earth.”

Industry Veteran Cliff Blake Passes

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Cliff Blake

Industry veteran Cliff Blake passed away March 16 following a battle with ALS. He was 73.

Blake enjoyed a 47-year career working both in radio and at various record labels. His radio career included time at WZZK/Birmingham, WMZQ/Washington, KFKF/Kansas City and WOKQ/Portsmouth, NE, and he also had stints at Warner Bros., Republic Nashville and Arista throughout his career. He retired as Columbia Dir./Northeast Regional Promotion in 2018, then joined Good Company Entertainment in a regional promotion capacity later that year.

Services for Blake have not been announced, but on March 13, his community in Dover, New Hampshire held a “Cliffabration” parade in his honor, with friends and neighbors gathering in a park and walking past his home holding signs of support. The Blake Family posted on Cliff’s Facebook page, requesting that in his memory people donate to their local arts organization, local library, or the Compassionate Care ALS organization.

Multi Faceted Music Man J. Aaron Brown Passes

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Longtime Nashville music executive J. Aaron Brown died on Saturday (March 14) at age 85.

The Grammy Award winner made his mark in producing, songwriting, publishing and other music ventures. Brown won two Grammys for creating a series of top-selling children’s recordings. He was also a major figure in Nashville’s gospel-music industry for more than six decades.

Born James Aaron Brown, he was raised in Nashville. He graduated from Isaac Litton High School in 1958. Brown began his music career by working with The Oak Ridge Boys in the 1960s. At the time, the group was a an award-winning gospel quartet.

When the Texas-based Word Records established its first Nashville office, Brown was tapped to spearhead the outpost. Between 1970 and 1980, he was the head of the Christian-music giant’s publishing division. During these years, he played an important role in developing, recording and marketing gospel, early CCM (Contemporary Christian Music), worship, and inspirational styles of music.

As a songwriter, he created religious numbers geared to the Southern-gospel field. These were recorded by The Talleys, The Freemans, Little Roy Lewis, Tanya Goodman and other stars of the genre. Along the way, he also produced the songbooks of country stars such as Mel Tillis and the Oaks for Hal Leonard Publishing.

In the 1980s, he became affiliated with New Haven Records, which later distributed albums he produced. In addition, he formed his own song-publishing companies under the umbrella firm J. Aaron Brown & Associates.

In 1986, Brown identified a previously underserved music market and produced A Child’s Gift of Lullabyes. Initially issued on cassette, the album was placed in a Nashville baby store and sold well. Brown gradually expanded the record’s marketing by placing it in specialty baby shops nationwide. Its success led to him writing and producing an entire series of albums geared toward mothers and newborns. They won Grammy Awards in the Best Album for Children category in 1990 (beating the Muppets) and 1996 (beating Pocahontas).

J. Aaron Brown was also a competitive water skier who won national awards and was named to the sport’s Hall of Fame in 2009. He taught water skiing on Old Hickory Lake and Center Hill Lake. Brown is recalled as a fun-loving collaborator and a genial presence in numerous music-industry organizations.

He is survived by his wife Connie McAdams; by his sons Jay Brown and Matthew Brown; by brother Bobby Brown; and by grandson Hamilton Brown. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

Music Business Veteran Laurie Lynn Larson Passes

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Laurie Lynn Larson.

Laurie Lynn Larson passed away on March 2 of sudden complications of a recurrence with Ovarian/Peritoneal cancer at the age of 60.

Born and raised in Littleton, Colorado, she became a fan of country music and singer songwriters as a teen. She moved to Nashville in 1983 where she studied Sales and Marketing at Lipscomb before transferring to Belmont to study music business.

She began her career writing copy for Jeff Walker at Aristo Media and worked at the original Country Music Hall of Fame. During her 11 years with the Crook & Chase show, Larson spent two years in Los Angeles.

After moving back to Tennessee, she worked in marketing for Mercy Ministries, organizing the 2000 Mercy Project that included Amy Grant, Michelle Tumes, Point of Grace, Donna Summer and Martina McBride. She moved into management, working with Jana Stanfield, Robin Crowe (Dark Horse Studio) and others. She served as assistant producer on the 2003 Alabama Farewell Tour documentary.

She later spent 10 years working in sales for Senior Living facilities. During her time at Belmont Village Senior Living she produced five “Bluebird At The Belmont” songwriter shows raising money for the Vanderbilt Center for Quality Aging. The shows featured Tony Arata, Bob Dipiero, Allen Shamblin, Jeff Trott, Jon Night, Billy Montana, Aaron Barker, Doc Holladay, Keith Burns, Heidi Newfield, Jimmy Nichols, Jill Colluci & Pam Rose and more.

Larson counts one of her proudest moments as facilitating the recording of her wife Karen Staley’s track “I’ll Leave My Heart In Tennessee” recorded by Opry members Daily & Vincent. It was later unanimously voted in the TN Legislature in 2022 as the 11th Official Tennessee State Song.

Larson is survived by Staley, her wife of 14 years, cousins Tamara, Terry & Dean Berry, and their children Taylor, Aubrey, Jasmine and Jade Berry. She will be interred with a Green Burial in the pasture of Staley’s former Scarlet Sun Farm, now White Oak Farm, in Franklin, Tennessee on Friday (March 6) at 5:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Alive Hospice here.

Hit Country Songwriter Brett Jones Passes

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Brett Jones

Nashville songwriter Brett Jones has died at age 69.

Jones earned 10 BMI Awards for co-writing country hits. Among his big songs are “You Won’t Ever Be Lonely” (Andy Griggs), “Crazy Town” (Jason Aldean) and “Cover You in Kisses” (John Michael Montgomery). He provided hits to such stars as Montgomery Gentry with “What Do You Think About That,” Blue County with “Good Little Girls,” Tracy Lawrence with “Better Man, Better Off,” and his co-writer Bobby Pinson with “Don’t Ask Me How I Know.”

Among his biggest chart toppers were 2009’s “That’s How Country Boys Roll,” sung by Billy Currington and 2011’s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away,” sung by Justin Moore.

During his 25-year career on Music Row, Brett Jones was responsible for more than 300 recorded songs, 14 top-10 hits and seven No. 1 successes. He provided songs to such artists as Chris LeDoux, Darryl Worley, Ricky Van Shelton, Jeff Carson, Darius Rucker, Reba McEntire, Colt Ford, Lorrie Morgan and Tracy Byrd, among dozens of others. Trace Adkins recorded six of his works; Logan Mize recorded five. Jones’ “old school” country style was particularly favored by Canadian country stars such as Gord Bamford, George Canyon and Paul Brandt.

Brett was born William Seaborn Jones in Annapolis, Maryland as one of six children in a U.S. Navy officer’s family. He was raised near Manchester, Georgia and played football for the University of Georgia. He graduated in 1978.

As a young adult, he experienced the deaths of his father and two of his brothers. He dealt with his grief by taking up guitar and writing songs.

He did not initially view music as a vocation. Brett Jones worked variously as a bartender, line cook, farmer, high-school teacher, county commissioner, commodities trader and wealth manager before pursuing his dream. He moved to Nashville in 1991 at age 34 with no contacts or prospects. Thanks to his talent, Jones advanced quickly in the city’s songwriting scene.

His first significant chart appearance as a songwriter was with 1995’s “When and Where,” recorded by Confederate Railroad. The following year, Daryle Singletary charted with Jones’ co-written ballad “Workin’ It Out,” and Neal McCoy sang “You Gotta Love That” as the songwriter’s first top-10 hit. Then 1998’s “A Little Past Little Rock” became a key song in the repertoire of Lee Ann Womack. “Practice Life,” recorded by Andy Griggs and Martina McBride in 2002, was not a big hit, but its meaningful message was quoted in his Tennessean obituary.

Jones was an entertaining presence at the city’s songwriting showcases. As an artist, he released the CDs Life’s Road (2009) and Cowboy Sailor (2014).

Recalling his early experience of music as a healing thing, he founded Gold Star Mentors in 2017. This organization provides guitars and music instruction to children who experience the loss of a military loved one.

Brett Jones died on Feb. 16 following a 10-month struggle with brain cancer. He is survived by his wife Clair Tri Jones. He is also survived by his seven children — Ben Grady Jones III, Brett Thayer Jones, Thaddeus Clayton Jones, Seth Seaborn Jones, Cody Augustus Jones, Olivia McBride Jones and Riley Cataula Jones — as well as by six grandchildren and two sisters.

A celebration of life will be held at BMI Nashville, 10 Music Square E, Nashville, TN 37203, at 4:00 PM on March 2, 2026. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to his nonprofit, goldstarmentors.com. Arrangements are in care of Williamson Memorial Funeral Hone, 615 794-2289, williamsonmemorial.com.

Musician/Producer/Exec Jerry Kennedy Passes

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Jerry Kennedy. Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum

Jerry Kennedy, one of the great Nashville record men, has died at age 85.

He was a consummate guitarist, producer, songwriter and record executive. Kennedy was a key figure in the creation and development of the Nashville Sound. He produced classic records by Country Music Hall of Fame members Roger Miller, The Statler Brothers, Reba McEntire, Jerry Lee Lewis and Tom T. Hall. He was the chief of Mercury Records on Music Row in 1969-84.

As an instrumentalist, Kennedy was heard on Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde LP (1966), as the driving guitar lick on Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman” (1964), on the dobro passages that answer Jeannie C. Riley’s vocal on “Harper Valley P.T.A.” (1968) and in the distinctive guitar intro of Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man” (1968), among many other immortal Nashville records.

Born Jerry Glenn Kennedy, he was a native of Shreveport, Louisiana. He was a child prodigy who was signed by RCA at age 11. By age 16, he was a staff guitarist on the city’s famed Louisiana Hayride country show. He backed Faron Young, Johnny Horton, and the show’s other stars. He also began to record, backing blues artists Jimmy McCracklin and Guitar Junior on discs.

Encouraged by promotion man Shelby Singleton, Jerry Kennedy moved to Nashville in 1961 to become a session musician. In 1963, he became Singleton’s assistant at Mercury.

But he continued to work as a picker on recording sessions by Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Ringo Starr, Stonewall Jackson and George Jones, among others. His earliest Nashville success was backing Rex Allen on the 1962 hit “Don’t Go Near the Indians.” His work backing Elvis Presley included 1962’s “Good Luck Charm.” He was also in the band as well as the producer’s chair for “King of the Road” and the other hits that earned Roger Miller 11 Grammy Awards in 1964-65. His works with Orbison, Wynette, Riley and Dylan were also during this period of his career.

Singleton kept promoting Kennedy at Mercury. Jerry Kennedy became the head of the Nashville label in 1969. In that role, he discovered McEntire and signed her to her first major-label contract (1976). He also launched the career of Tex/Mex stylist Johnny Rodriguez (1972). He brought Tom T. Hall to fame. Kennedy’s productions guided Jerry Lee Lewis’s transition from rock to country and found him such song hits as “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous” and “Another Place, Another Time.”

His other Mercury roster artists included Patti Page, Bobby Bare, Brook Benton, Leroy Van Dyke, Ray Stevens, Roy Drusky, George Burns, Charlie Rich, Dave Dudley, Faron Young and Mickey Newbury. Jerry Kennedy also recorded seven instrumental albums, himself.

In 1984, he formed JK Productions. Under this imprimatur, he continued to produce Hall and the Statlers, as well as new clients such as The Maines Brothers and Connie Smith. In 1984-89 he produced a string of hits for Mel McDaniel on Capitol Records. Jerry Kennedy was noted for his low-key, easy-going manner as a studio professional.

“Jerry Kennedy was soft-spoken and understated, but his permanent impact on American music was anything but quiet,” eulogized CEO Kyle Young of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

In 1992, Kennedy was presented with the Nashville Entertainment Association’s Master Award. Jerry Kennedy was an inaugural inductee into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007, and the museum’s theater is named in his honor. In 2008, he was saluted in the “Nashville Cats” series presented by the Country Music Hall of Fame. During his career, he earned four Grammy Awards as a producer.

Son Bryan Kennedy became the opening act for Garth Brooks on tour and cowrote the superstar’s hits “American Honky Tonk Bar Association,” “Beaches of Cheyenne” and “Good Ride Cowboy.” He co-wrote and starred in the popular musical Toe Roaster.

Son Shelby Kennedy became an ASCAP executive, a record producer and the writer of songs recorded by Ray Charles, Randy Howard and others. He co-wrote “I’m a Survivor,” the theme song of the long-running TV sitcom Reba. He was also an executive at Lyric Street Records. He has sung backup on records by Jamey Johnson, Mila Mason, Mel McDaniel, Ashton Shepherd, Boxcar Willie and Johnny Rodriguez. He helped to launch the careers of SheDaisy and Alan Jackson.

Son Gordon Kennedy was a member of the CCM band WhiteHeart and co-wrote Eric Clapton’s “Change the World,” which won the 1996 Song of the Year Grammy Award. Gordon Kennedy’s songs have also been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Ricky Skaggs, Trisha Yearwood, Peter Frampton, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Wynonna, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, George Strait, Charlie Daniels and others.

Jerry Kennedy passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

A Celebration of Life will be held on April 7 at 7 p.m. CT at Ray Stevens’ CabaRay Showroom (5724 River Rd, Nashville, TN 37209).