Grand Ole Opry Member Stonewall Jackson Dies at 89
Country has lost another of it's classic stars.
The Grand Ole Opry said farewell to its longest serving member over the weekend, with country star Stonewall Jackson passing away Saturday (December 4). He was 89.
A member of the historic country music broadcast for 65 years, Jackson joined the Opry in 1956 and went on to enjoy success through the ’60s and ’70s. His passing was marked on the Grand Ole Opry’s social channels.
Born in 1932, Jackson was remembered by peers like the Oak Ridge Boys as a “honky tonk hero,” earning hits with tracks like “Waterloo,” “A Wound Time Can’t Erase” and more. The Georgia-raised singer reportedly died after battle with vascular dementia, and with his farewell, Jackson’s friend and colleague “Whispering” Bill Anderson now becomes the Opry’s senior member.
Anderson is still performing, making an appearance at the recent 5,000th Saturday night Opry broadcast, and he was also honored with a new exhibit at the country Music Hall of Fame and Museum last week. He remembered Jackson fondly.
“Stonewall Jackson was one of the first Opry stars I met when I started coming to Nashville, and as two ol’ boys with Georgia roots, we became fast friends,” Anderson said. “We toured the U.S. and Canada together, sharing a lot of laughs and a lot of country music. He was about as ‘genuine’ a person as I’ve ever known. He will certainly be missed.”
