Billy Edd Wheeler, who wrote countless hit songs for dozens of artists, has died at 91.
The legendary songwriter and performer died Monday at his home in Swannanoa, North Carolina, the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame announced.
‘My father, Billy Edd Wheeler, passed away peacefully at home yesterday surrounded by family,’ his son wrote on social media. ‘We love you Dad. You will be missed by so many but also forever remembered by all the gifts you gave to this world.’
Throughout his long career, Wheeler wrote award-winning songs for many musicians, including Judy Collins, Bobby Darin, The Kingston Trio, Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Kenny Rogers, and Elvis, according to his website.
Wheeler, along with Jerry Leiber, wrote ‘Jackson’ in 1963, which was later sung as a duet between Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter Cash.
Billy Edd Wheeler, who wrote countless hit songs for dozens of artists, has died at age 91
Wheeler was born in a small West Virginia town in 1932 to a working class family.
‘Billy Edd was raised by his mother and grew up dirt poor in the coalfields. With a rare gift for story-telling, an excess of country smarts and perseverance, Billy Edd was a true renaissance man,’ wrote the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.
Some of his other famous songs included ‘Coal Tattoo’ and ‘The Reverend Mr. Black.’
Kenny Rogers’ version of Wheeler’s ‘Coward of the County’ became a number 1 single when it came out in 1980. The next year it would be made into a movie also starring Kenny Rogers.