Stonewall Jackson (singer)
{{Short description|American country music singer (1932–2021)}}
{{About|the American country music singer|other people|Stonewall Jackson (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Stonewall Jackson
| background = solo_singer
| birth_name =
| image = Stonewall Jackson (1966).png
| image_upright = 0.8
| caption = Jackson in 1966
| birth_date = {{birth date|1932|11|06}}
| birth_place = Tabor City, North Carolina, U.S.
| death_date = {{death_date_and_age|2021|12|04|1932|11|06}}
| genre = {{hlist|Country|honky-tonk}}
| past_member_of = {{hlist|Ray Price|Hank Williams|Lefty Frizzell|Ernest Tubb}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|musician}}
| instruments = {{hlist|Vocals|acoustic guitar}}
| years_active = 1956–2012
| label = Columbia
| website =
| death_place = Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
}}
Stonewall Jackson (November 6, 1932 – December 4, 2021) was an American country music singer and musician who achieved his greatest fame during country's "golden" honky tonk era in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Biography
=Early years=
Born in Tabor City, North Carolina on November 6, 1932,{{cite book|title=The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1993|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-726-6|page=198}} Jackson was the youngest of three children. Stonewall is not a nickname; he was named after Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. (Some publicity claimed he was a descendant of the general, but that is unlikely.)
When Stonewall was two, his father died after which his mother moved the family to Worth County in South Georgia, where he grew up working on his uncle's farm. Jackson enlisted in the Navy in 1950 and was discharged in 1954. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1956.
=Recording career=
After hearing Jackson's demo tape, Wesley Rose, president of Acuff-Rose Music, arranged for Jackson to audition for the Grand Ole Opry. Jackson became the first artist to join the Grand Ole Opry before obtaining a recording contract.{{cite web| title = Stonewall Jackson| url = http://www.opry.com/artists/j/Jackson_Stonewall.html| publisher = Grand Ole Opry| access-date = July 2, 2012}} He toured with Ernest Tubb, who became his mentor.{{cite news |last1=Associated Press |title=Grand Ole Opry country singer Stonewall Jackson dies at 89 |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/grand-ole-opry-country-singer-stonewall-jackson-dies-89-t242098 |access-date=21 December 2021 |publisher=Today.com |date=5 December 2021}} Jackson signed with Columbia Records in 1958.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}
His breakthrough came in the country Top 40 in late 1958, with a song written by a young George Jones, "Life to Go". It peaked at No.{{nbsp}}2 in early 1959 and his follow-up record, "Waterloo", was No.{{nbsp}}1 for five weeks, and crossed over into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it reached No. 4. The track also reached No. 24 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1959.{{cite book| first= David| last= Roberts| year= 2006| title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London| isbn= 1-904994-10-5| page= 276}} It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.{{cite book| first= Joseph| last= Murrells| year= 1978| title= The Book of Golden Discs| edition= 2nd| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd| location= London| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/115 115]| isbn= 0-214-20512-6| url-access= registration| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/115}} The song was a haunting and catchy tune that states "Everybody has to meet his Waterloo", meaning their fate. The song cites Adam, Napoleon and Tom Dooley as examples.
His next No. 1 hits came in 1964 with "Don't Be Angry" and "B.J. the D.J." (Jackson's foray into the teenage tragedy song trope, about an over-worked country music radio station disc jockey, who crashes his car in a rainstorm). In 1971, Jackson was the first artist to record a live album from the Grand Ole Opry with Recorded Live At The Grand Ole Opry. His other hit songs include "The Carpet on the Floor", "Why I'm Walkin'", "A Wound Time Can't Erase", and "I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water". Jackson also recorded a cover version of Lobo's 1971 hit, "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo", which became Jackson's final top 10 hit.
From 1958 to 1971, Jackson had 35 Top 40 country hits.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}
=Later years=
In 2006, Jackson sued the Grand Ole Opry for $10 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages, claiming age discrimination. As a member of the Opry for over fifty years, Jackson believed management was sidelining him in favor of younger artists. In his court filing, Jackson claimed that Opry general manager Pete Fisher stated that he did not "want any gray hairs on that stage or in the audience, and before I'm done there won't be any." Fisher is also alleged to have told Jackson that he was "too old and too country".{{Cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070112/ap_en_mu/people_stonewall_jackson|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070114112418/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070112/ap_en_mu/people_stonewall_jackson|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 14, 2007|title=Yahoo! News, 1/12/07|work=Yahoo! News|agency=Associated Press|access-date=August 7, 2021}} The lawsuit was settled on October 3, 2008 for an undisclosed amount and Jackson returned to performing on the show.[https://web.archive.org/web/20081010150251/http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1596410/stonewall-jacksons-lawsuit-against-opry-settled.jhtml "Stonewall Jackson's Lawsuit Against Opry Settled"] Cmt.com, October 6, 2008 He was a member of the Opry from 1956 until his death.{{cite web
|title = Opry Member List PDF
|url = http://www.opry.com/img/Opry%20Members%20List.pdf
|date = April 23, 2012
|access-date = July 2, 2012
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120607030858/http://www.opry.com/img/Opry%20Members%20List.pdf
|archive-date = June 7, 2012
|df = mdy-all
}} He largely retired from performing by 2012, with his last public performance being at the funeral of his longtime friend George Jones.{{Cite magazine|last=Iasimone|first=Ashley|date=2021-12-05|title=Stonewall Jackson, Longtime Grand Ole Opry Member, Dies at 89|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/stonewall-jackson-dead-1235005923/|access-date=2021-12-05|magazine=Billboard|language=en-US}}
Jackson lived on a farm in Brentwood, Tennessee where his wife Juanita died on January 11, 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://m.legacy.com/obituaries/tennessean/obituary.aspx?n=juanita-wair-jackson&pid=191254595&referrer=|title=Junita Wair Jackson Obituary|date=January 15, 2019|website=The Tennessean|access-date=January 21, 2019}} She was also his personal manager and operated his song publishing company, Turp Tunes.{{cite news |title=Obituary: Juanita Wair Jackson |url=https://www.tennessean.com/obituaries/ten112119 |access-date=21 December 2021 |publisher=Tennessean.com |date=15 January 2019}} He has a son, Stonewall Jackson Jr.
He was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame on October 11, 2012.{{cite news|title=N.C. Music Hall of Fame offers tickets|url=http://www.salisburypost.com/News/082912WEB--NC-Music-HAll--of-F|access-date=September 10, 2012|newspaper=The Salisbury Post|date=August 29, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231002709/http://www.salisburypost.com/News/082912WEB--NC-Music-HAll--of-F|archive-date=December 31, 2013|df=mdy-all}}
Jackson died in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 4, 2021, at the age of 89, from complications of vascular dementia.{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsmv.com/news/longtime-country-singer-stonewall-jackson-dies-at-89/article_be5e03c0-5545-11ec-ac21-efa846c5812d.html |title=Longtime country singer Stonewall Jackson dies at 89 |first=Tony |last=Garcia |date=December 4, 2021 |work=WSMV-TV |access-date=December 4, 2021}}{{Cite news|date=2021-12-05|title=Grand Ole Opry country singer Stonewall Jackson dies at 89|url=https://apnews.com/article/arts-and-entertainment-tennessee-porter-wagoner-e594a90960bcb76b2f73fa43cf0fe791|access-date=2021-12-05|work=Associated Press|language=en}}
Discography
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2021}}
=Albums=
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Album ! Label |
| 1959
| The Dynamic Stonewall Jackson | | rowspan="18"| Columbia |
| 1962
| The Sadness in a Song | |
| 1963
| I Love a Song | align="center"| 2 |
| rowspan="3"| 1965
| Trouble & Me | align="center"| 15 |
| The Exciting Stonewall Jackson
| |
| Stonewall Jackson's Greatest Hits
| align="center"| 20 |
| 1966
| All's Fair in Love 'n' War | align="center"| 5 |
| rowspan="2"| 1967
| Help Stamp Out Loneliness | align="center"| 36 |
| Country
| |
| rowspan="2"| 1968
| Nothing Takes the Place of Loving You | align="center"| 34 |
| The Great Old Songs
| align="center"| 38 |
| rowspan="3"| 1969
| Old Country Church | |
| Greatest Hits 2
| |
| Tribute to Hank Williams
| |
| rowspan="2"| 1970
| The Lonesome in Me | |
| The Real Thing
| |
| rowspan="2"| 1971
| Recorded Live at the Grand Ole Opry | |
| Me and You and a Dog Named Boo
| |
| 1972
| The World | |
| 1976
| Greatest Hits | | GRT |
| rowspan="2"| 1979
| Platinum Country | | rowspan="2"| Little Darlin' |
| Bad Ass
| |
| 1981
| Stars of the Grand Ole Opry | | 1st Generation |
| 1983
| Audiograph Live | | Audiograph |
=Singles=
| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Single ! colspan="4"| Chart Positions ! rowspan="2"| Album |
| width="45"| US Country
! width="45"| US Cash Box Country ! width="45"| US ! width="45"| CAN Country |
|---|
| 1958
| "Life to Go" | align="center"| 2 | align="center"| 1 | | | rowspan="3"| The Dynamic Stonewall Jackson |
| rowspan="3"| 1959
| "Waterloo" | align="center"| 1 | align="center"| 1 | align="center"| 4 | |
| "Smoke Along the Track"
| align="center"| 24 | align="center"| 30 | | |
| "Igmoo (The Pride of South Central High)"
| align="center"| 29 | align="center"| 16 | align="center"| 95 | | single only |
| rowspan="4"| 1960
| "Mary Don't You Weep" | align="center"| 12 | align="center"| 8 | align="center"| 41 | | rowspan="2"| The Dynamic Stonewall Jackson |
| "Why I'm Walkin'"
| align="center"| 6 | align="center"| 8 | align="center"| 83 | |
| "Life of a Poor Boy"
| align="center"| 15 | align="center"| 22 | | | rowspan="2"| singles only |
| "A Little Guy Called Joe"
| align="center"| 13 | align="center"| 11 | | |
| rowspan="2"| 1961
| "Greener Pastures" | align="center"| 26 | align="center"| 14 | | | rowspan="2"| The Sadness in a Song |
| "Hungry for Love"
| align="center"| 27 | align="center"| 13 | | |
| rowspan="4"| 1962
| "A Wound Time Can't Erase" | align="center"| 3 | align="center"| 1 | | | I Love a Song |
| "Second Choice"
| align="center"| 18 | align="center"| 38 | | | rowspan="3"| The Sadness in a Song |
| "One Look at Heaven"
| align="center"| 11 | align="center"| 14 | | |
| "Leona"
| align="center"| 9 | align="center"| 33 | | |
| rowspan="3"| 1963
| "Can't Hang Up the Phone" | align="center"| 11 | align="center"| 8 | | | single only |
| "Old Showboat"
| align="center"| 8 | align="center"| 11 | | | Trouble & Me |
| "Wild Wild Wind"
| align="center"| 15 | align="center"| 11 | | | rowspan="2"| I Love a Song |
| rowspan="3"| 1964
| "B.J. the D.J." | align="center"| 1 | align="center"| 2 | | |
| "Not My Kind of People"
| align="center"| 24 | align="center"| 27 | | | Trouble & Me |
| "Don't Be Angry"
| align="center"| 4 | align="center"| 4 | | align="center"| 3 | I Love a Song |
| rowspan="5"| 1965
| "I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water" | align="center"| 8 | align="center"| 4 | | | rowspan="2"| Trouble & Me |
| "Trouble and Me"
| align="center"| 30 | align="center"| 35 | | |
| "Lost in the Shuffle"
| align="center"| 22 | | | | Stonewall Jackson's Greatest Hits |
| "Poor Red Georgia Dirt"
| align="center"| 44 | | | | rowspan="2"| singles only |
| "If This House Could Talk"
| align="center"| 24 | align="center"| 18 | | |
| rowspan="2"| 1966
| "The Minute Men (Are Turning in Their Graves)" | align="center"| 24 | align="center"| 19 | | | rowspan="2"| All's Fair in Love 'N' War |
| "Blues Plus Booze (Means I Lose)"
| align="center"| 12 | align="center"| 21 | | |
| rowspan="3"| 1967
| "Help Stamp Out Loneliness" | align="center"| 5 | align="center"| 5 | | | rowspan="2"| Help Stamp Out Loneliness |
| "Promises and Hearts (Were Made to Break)"
| align="center"| 15 | align="center"| 13 | | |
| "This World Holds Nothing (Since You're Gone)"
| align="center"| 27 | align="center"| 27 | | | Country |
| rowspan="3"| 1968
| "Nothing Takes the Place of Loving You" | align="center"| 39 | align="center"| 20 | | | rowspan="2"| Nothing Takes the Place of Loving You |
| "I Believe in Love"
| align="center"| 31 | align="center"| 35 | | |
| "Angry Words"
| align="center"| 16 | align="center"| 15 | | align="center"| 13 | Greatest Hits 2 |
| rowspan="3"| 1969
| "Somebody's Always Leaving" | align="center"| 52 | align="center"| 47 | | | rowspan="4"| The Lonesome in Me |
| "'Never More' Quote the Raven"
| align="center"| 25 | align="center"| 18 | | align="center"| 13 |
| "Ship in the Bottle"
| align="center"| 19 | align="center"| 34 | | |
| rowspan="3"| 1970
| "Better Days for Mama" | align="center"| 72 | | | |
| "Born That Way"
| align="center"| 72 | | | | rowspan="2"| The Real Thing |
| "Oh Lonesome Me"
| align="center"| 63 | align="center"| 52 | | |
| rowspan="2"| 1971
| "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo" | align="center"| 7 | align="center"| 5 | | align="center"| 3 | rowspan="2"| Me and You and a Dog Named Boo |
| "Push the Panic Button"
| | | | |
| rowspan="2"| 1972
| "That's All This World Needs" (w/ Brentwood Children's Choir) | align="center"| 51 | align="center"| 50 | | | The World |
| "Torn from the Pages of Life"
| align="center"| 71 | align="center"| 52 | | | rowspan="5"| singles only |
| rowspan="4"| 1973
| "I'm Not Strong Enough (To Build Another Dream)" | align="center"| 70 | | | |
| "True Love Is the Thing"
| | | | |
| "Herman Schwartz"
| align="center"| 41 | align="center"| 50 | | align="center"| 89 |
| "Ol' Blue"
| | | | |
| 1974
| "Don't Be Late" | | | | | Greatest Hits |
| rowspan="3"| 1978
| "Spirit of Saint Louis" | | | | | Bad Ass |
| "Walk Out on Me (Before I Walk All Over You)"
| | | | | single only |
| "My Favorite Sin"
| | | | | Bad Ass |
| rowspan="2"| 1979
| "Point of No Return" | | | | | rowspan="2"| singles only |
| "Listening to Johnny Paycheck"
| | | | |
| 1981
| "Full Moon Empty Pockets" | | | | | Stars of the Grand Ole Opry |
| 1983
| "Let the Sun Shine on the People" | | | | | Audiograph Live |
References
;Notes
{{Reflist}}
;Bibliography
Trott, Walt (1998). "Stonewall Jackson". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 259.
External links
- {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p1661/biography|pure_url=no}} Allmusic overview
- {{Discogs artist|Stonewall Jackson}}
- {{IMDb name|1268881}}
{{Stonewall Jackson (musician)}}
{{Grand Ole Opry members}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Stonewall}}
Category:People from Tabor City, North Carolina
Category:American country singer-songwriters
Category:American male singer-songwriters
Category:Grand Ole Opry members
Category:Country musicians from North Carolina
Category:Singer-songwriters from North Carolina
Category:American country guitarists
Category:American acoustic guitarists
Category:Guitarists from North Carolina
Category:20th-century American guitarists
Category:American male guitarists
Category:20th-century American male musicians
Category:Deaths from vascular dementia