Hall of Fame Country Singer-Songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler Has Died

Billy Edd Wheeler, the country legend who wrote songs for some of music greats, including Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash’s “Jackson,” has died. Wheeler passed away at his home in Swannanoa, North Carolina on Monday, Sept. 16, according to his children. Wheeler was 91. A cause of death was not disclosed.

“We love you Dad. You will be missed by so many but also forever remembered by all the gifts you gave to this world,” Lucy wrote on Facebook. She also shared a post from Grammy winner Janis Ian, who remembered Wheeler as “one of the greatest little-known artists on earth; an amazing songwriter, author, playwright, sculptor, painter, you name it.”

Born in Whitesville, West Virginia in 1932, Wheeler “was raised by his mother and grew up dirt poor in the coalfields,” according to a tribute post from the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. He had “a rare gift for story-telling, an excess of country smarts and perseverance” that him a “true renaissance man.”

Wheeler eventually rose to become a country music legend known for his songwriting ability. He wrote award-winning songs musicians includingJudy Collins, Bobby Darin, The Kingston Trio, Neil Young, and Elvis, according to his website. Together with Jerry Leiber, he co-wrote “Jackson” in 1963. That song was made famous by Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter, who sang it as a duet. Wheeler also wrote “Coward of the County,” which became a No. 1 single when Kenny Rogers covered it in 1980. The following yar, it was made into a movie starring Rogers.

Wheeler is also has songwriting credits on Cash’s “Blistered,” with his songbook also including “It’s Midnight” (a 1974 single for Presley), “Gimme Back My Blues” (released in 1978 by Jerry Reed), and “A Baby Again” (a 1969 single for Hank Williams Jr.), and Lynn’s “You Blow My Mind,” among many others. He received 13 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for songs he has written, and in 2000, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.

“Billy Edd Wheeler was a songwriter who could pack an entire cinematic experience into a few short minutes,” Kyle Young, the CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, said of Wheeler. “His writing had the power to do what only the best creative works can: transport the listener.”

Wheeler, who completed his graduate studies at Yale’s School of Drama where he majored in playwriting, considered himself as Yale’s “token hillbilly,” according to his website. In addition to his country music career, he also wrote a dozen plays and authored and co-wrote numerous books.

Wheeler is survived by his wife, Mary Mitchell Bannerman, and their two children, Lucy and Travis.