Country music hitmaker dead at 91: ‘The world has lost a treasure’

Billy Edd Wheeler, a country singer-songwriter who created hits for Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, Elvis Presley and other stars, has died at age 91.

Wheeler — best known as the co-writer of “Jackson,” a duet made famous by Cash and June Carter — died on Monday, Sept. 16, according to his family. The West Virginia native and North Carolina resident was a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, inducted in 2000 and touted as “Renaissance artist” by the organization.

“Billy Edd Wheeler is known as a country recording artist and the writer of country hits for Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr. and others. But songwriting is only one facet of this Renaissance artist’s life,” the hall of fame says on its website. “Wheeler has been a poet and storyteller, a Navy pilot, a playwright, a teacher, a painter, a novelist, a humor writer and a magazine editor. Like Kris Kristofferson and Shel Silverstein, he seemed capable of fulfilling any creative pursuit at any point in his life.”

Wheeler earned 13 awards from ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) and wrote songs recorded by more than 100 artists, according to his website. He also was honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2014, during its Poets & Prophets Series.

Wheeler’s extensive songbook includes “It’s Midnight” (a 1974 single for Presley), “Coward of the County” (a 1979 hit for Rogers), “Gimme Back My Blues” (released in 1978 by Jerry Reed) and “A Baby Again” (a 1969 single for Hank Williams Jr.). The Kingston Trio had a folk hit with Wheeler’s “The Reverend Mr. Black” in 1963, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard charts.

Wheeler’s website also touts his songwriting credits on Johnny Cash’s “Blistered,” Pat Boone’s “Rock Boll Weevil,” Glen Campbell’s “Anne,” Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn’s “You Blow My Mind” and many more. His greatest claim to fame came with “Jackson,” however, written with Jerry Leiber of the songwriting duo Leiber and Stoller.

An iconic version of the song — a duet performed by a couple sparring about infidelity and the romantic fire that’s faded in their marriage — was recorded by Johnny Cash and June Carter in 1967. The tune reached No. 2 on the Billboard Country Singles chart and earned a Grammy Award for Cash and Carter (later known as June Carter Cash) in the category of Best Country & Western Performance, Duet, Trio, or Group.

“Jackson” also was immortalized in the 2005 movie “Walk the Line,” performed by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.

“Billy Edd Wheeler was a songwriter who could pack an entire cinematic experience into a few short minutes,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame, in a statement released on Tuesday. “Perhaps it came from his West Virginia upbringing or his Yale Drama School pedigree, but whatever the case, Billy Edd had a narrative gift that enabled him to spin a silver screen-worthy tale of long-simmering anger in ‘Coward of the County’ or a spicy story about a marriage in jeopardy that came to represent the playful, hot-blooded dynamic between Johnny and June in ‘Jackson.’ Little wonder he also wrote novels and plays. His writing had the power to do what only the best creative works can: transport the listener.”

Wheeler recorded more than a dozen albums of his own, 1961-2006, and released solo singles such as “Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back,” “I Ain’t the Worryin’ Kind” and “Fried Chicken and a Country Tune.”

Folk icon Janis Ian paid tribute to Wheeler via social media, with a Monday Facebook post that said, “My friend Billy Edd Wheeler passed away today, at the age of 91. One of the greatest little-known artists on earth; an amazing songwriter, author, playwright, sculptor, painter, you name it.”

Country star Kathy Mattea chimed in Tuesday on Facebook, as well, saying, “Today is a sad day …. our friend Billy Edd Wheeler passed away yesterday in North Carolina. He was a true Renaissance man … a songwriter, playwright, poet, performer, painter, and author. He had a great sense of humor and a naturally sunny disposition. He was one of the most down to earth people I ever met, and he wore his successes very lightly. He was an inspiration to me for years … and still is. The world has lost a treasure, a character, and a wonderful example of a life lived with beautiful authenticity. I feel lucky to have known him.”

Wheeler also was a member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame and the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.