Country Music's Fifteen Greatest Tragedies (2/2): Songs By: Street, Young

Country Music's Fifteen Greatest Tragedies (2/2)

Street, Mel ~ Oct. 21, 1933 - Oct. 21, 1978: Before his career ended in tragedy, Mel Street was a talented hard country singer whose emotional style harked back to the honky tonk of yesteryear. Street took his own life on October 21, 1978, his forty-third birthday. He had been scheduled that day to record the final tracks for his first album at Mercury Records. Upon his death, Mercury released the album, Mel Street, borrowing two tracks from his previous Polydor sessions to fill the void. A single from the album entered the country charts the very day he died. Its title "Just Hangin' On," turned out to be sadly prophetic.

Stringbean (David Akeman) ~ 6/17/1916 -- 11/10/1973: On Saturday night the Akemans returned home after performing a show at the Grand Ole Opry, and were shot dead upon their arrival. The Akemans' bodies were discovered the following morning by neighbor and fellow performer Grandpa Jones. A police investigation into the double homicide resulted in the conviction of cousins John A. Brown and Marvin Douglas Brown.

Walker, Billy ~ 1/14/1929 -- 5/21/2006: From his West Texas home of Ralls this country crooner went on to become one of Country music's most successful recording stars during the 1960s. He had moderate success in the 1950's but his career took off when he joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1960 and in 1962 recorded his first number one hit "Charlie's Shoes. On May 21, 2006, Walker died when the van he was driving back to Nashville after a performance in Foley, Alabama veered off Interstate 65 in Fort Deposit and overturned. His wife Bettie; bassist Charles Lilly Jr., son of Everett Lilly of Bluegrass Hall of Fame inductees The Lilly Brothers; and guitarist Daniel Patton were also killed in the crash. Walker was interred in Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville.

West, Dottie ~ 10/11/1932 -- 9/4/1991: On August 30, 1991, Dottie West was scheduled to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Shortly after leaving her Nashville apartment, her car stalled near her home. Her elderly neighbor spotted her on the side of the road and offered to drive her to the Opry. He lost control of his vehicle while exiting near the Opry at an excessive speed. The car left the ramp, vaulted in the air and hit the central division. West, though she thought she was unharmed, suffered severe internal injuries, including a ruptured spleen and a lacerated liver. Dottie underwent three surgeries, but the final procedure to stop her liver from bleeding failed and West died on the operating table

Whitley, Keith ~ 7/1/1954 -- 5/9/1989: Whitley's legacy loomed large over the country music landscape of the '90s. A talented new country singer and songwriter, Whitley was just beginning to emerge as a superstar at the time of his death in 1989. Keith's cause of death was acute alcohol poisoning. The medical examiner stated that his blood alcohol level was .477, the equivalent of 20 1-ounce shots of 100-proof whiskey and almost five times over the then Tennessee level of 0.1 legal intoxication limit, and nearly six times over the current .08 legal limit to drive.

Williams, Hank ~ 9/17/1923 - 1/1/1953: On January 1, 1953, Williams was due to play at a New Year's Day concert in Canton, Ohio, but he was unable to fly due to weather problems with snow and ice in Ohio. He hired a college student, Charles Carr, to drive him to the concerts he was to perform during the few final days of 1952 and early 1953. Upon leaving the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee, Williams apparently had injected himself with some pain-killers which included a morphine/Vitamin B-12 combinations. Also found in the Cadillac convertible were some empty beer cans and the handwritten lyrics to a song yet to be recorded. According to some, Williams was carried semi-conscious to his automobile by Carr and a hotel employee, who wondered about Williams' condition, and later believed he might have been dead at that point.

Young, Faron ~ 2/25/1932 -- 12/10/1996: A star of the Grand Ole Opry from 1952 to 1964, Faron was also known as "The Singing Sheriff" after appearing in a 1956 western "Hired Guns." He helped Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson get their music careers started. Faron became depressed over health problems, his career slump, and a divorce from his wife of 40 years, Hilda. On December 9, 1996, he shot himself in the head with a .38 caliber handgun. Faron was found unconscious on a bed in his home by a former band member, Ray Emmett and died one day later. Young was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. ~RJB: Country Music Historian, 9/2010.

Also see: Country Music's Fifteen Greatest Tragedies (1/2)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• movie
• 13

[taratupa73]

Should've included Tammy Wynette.

[flashbell]

@taratupa73 , I Did in Part 1

[ladyhawkca1]

Wow! No mention of the great Patsy Cline?

[flashbell]

@ladyhawkca1 , She is covered in Part 1, go there.

[jeffery6560]

thanks for taking time to give this information on the country music stars of past. I'm 52 and enjoy older music. Historic information on people you admire is alsome. Thanks again for taking the time to share. "Sharing makes friends closer" Fred Roger" AKA Mr. Roger

[flashbell]

@jeffery6560 , Thank you so much. Appreciated.

[flashbell]

@paintballers2010 , You better go bone up on Hank Williams. Hank died in the back seat of a car, but it wasn't from a car accident. I have been a country nusic historian for 40 years.

[papawx3]

What about Jimmie Rogers? He died young from TB, back before they had modern treatments for it. As the father of Country Music, I think he deserves a mention.

[taratupa73]

@flashbell Went through it 4 times, and still didn't see her.

[briartlaw]

@catman5169 31 JULY 1964 I think you will find i am right..

[micmoable]

It's something how several of them killed themselves----just shows that even big stars have problems-whether physical or mental that can lead to destruction

[MrHadley2011]

@papawx3 Yes He Does.

[FoxRunMan]

More recently, how about Eddie Shaver?

[fatjud1]

You forgot Joe Carson, Rex Allen, Merle Watson (Doc Watsons's Son), Joe Carson wasn't well known but he was on his way to stardom.