Those who grew up in the 1980s are more likely to associate Jimmy Dean with processed meat than country music.
Those who grew up in the 1980s are more likely to associate Jimmy Dean with processed meat than country music.
But before he became the sausage king of the South, the high school dropout from Plainview, Texas had already enjoyed an enviable career in entertainment, recording numerous hit songs, launching the careers of Roy Clark and Patsy Cline, acting as a host on The Tonight Show, appearing on variety and game shows, acting in Fantasy Island and even playing a friend of James Bond in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever.
His earliest recordings covered mostly those country music staples (lying, cheating, drinking) but his big break came with the 1961 recording “Big Bad John.” A ballad whose lyrics are less sung then spoken details a mysterious miner who heroically saves the rest of the men trapped underground with him before he is buried be a second cave-in.
The sentimental song acted as a template for his other hits that followed, including “Dear Ivan” and “P.T. 109.”
Deb Gibson of Floreffe, Florida, shared this memory of Dean’s music in the online condolence book: “My father always sang ‘To A Sleeping Beauty’ to me as a little girl. I played it for my daughter before she married. As always, the tears flowed. And having family who worked the coal mines of PA, Big Bad John was a family favorite. Mom loved I.O.U. I hope my dad has already shaken Jimmy Dean’s hand in Heaven — they’ve got a lot to talk about.”
Jimmy Dean was announced into the Country Music Hall of Fame, but died before he could be formally inducted.
We’re not sure if there’s a sausage hall of fame, but we’re guessing he’d probably have earned a spot there, too.
