Slim Whitman / Tom Tall RIP

Country music crooner Slim Whitman died June 19, 2013, at the age of 90 years in Orange Park, Florida. Whitman started his music career in the late 1940s and found success in the 1950s with several hits, including "Indian Love Call." During his career, he cut more than 500 songs and 100 albums. His song "Rose Marie" was a No.1 hit in the UK in the 1970s. Read more here.

Tom Tall, Country music one-hit wonder, passed away already on June 14, 2013, at the age of 75. He was famous for having the #2 C&W hit "Are You Mine" with Ginny Wright. Read more here.

Marshall Lytle RIP

Famous bassist Marshall Lytle passed away on May 25, 2013, at the age of 79, in Port Richey, Florida. Born 1933 in North Carolina, Lytle joined Bill Haley's Saddlemen in Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1951. He stayed with Haley and the band throught the first part of the 1950s and can be heard on Haley's most well-known song "Rock Around the Clock" among many others. He left in the mid-1950s and founded the Jodimars then.

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George Jones RIP

Country music superstar George Jones died April 26, 2013, at the age of 81, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Jones, also called "The Possum" or "No-Show Jones," was one of Country music's must successful and influential singers during the second half of 20th century. Some of his hits include "She Thinks I Still Care," "He Stopped Loving Her Today" among others. To Rockabilly collectors, he is mostly known for his 1950s rockin' sides such as "How Come It," "Rock It," "White Lightning," "Who Shot Sam," and many more.

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Hardrock Gunter RIP

Sidney Louie Gunter, better known as Hardrock Gunter, died March 15, 2013, at the age of 88. Gunter never became a national known singer but is famous in Rockabilly/Rock'n'Roll circles for his countless recordings during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. His songs, which became very popular during the Rockabilly Revival, include "Birmingham Bounce," "Whoo! I Mean Whee!," "Gonna Dance All Night," "Jukebox Help Me Find My Baby," and many, many others.

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Sammy Masters RIP

Country and Rockabilly music singer Sammy Masters died March 8, 2013, in Orange, California. Masters recorded Rock'n'Roll music during the 1950s and early 1960s on various labels, most notable his Rockabilly sides for 4 Star and his chart hit "Rockin' Red Wing." Eventually, he would move back to Country and hosted popular TV shows such as "Jukebox Saturday Night" and "Country Music Time."

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Eddie Bond RIP

Country and Rockabilly music singer Eddie Bond died March 20, 2013, at his home in Bolivar, Tennessee. Bond was a celebrity in West Tennessee and East Arkansas areas, being recording artist, DJ, TV personality, promoter and producer. He did his first recordings in 1955 in Memphis for the Ekko label and is most famous today for his 1956 Mercury sides, including the Sonny Fisher cover "Rockin' Daddy."

Bond recorded countless singles and albums in six decades. He was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and is regarded to be as one of the genre's pioneers.

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Claude King RIP

Country music singer and songwriter Claude King died March 7, 2013, at the age of 90. His biggest hit was the 1962 no.1 single "Wolverton Mountain," which stayed on top of the charts for half a year. He was a cast member of the Louisiana Hayride right from the beginning and also found great success in the 1960s as a songwriter.

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Bill Allen dies

Singer and Rockabilly Hall of Fame member Bill Allen died February 22, 2013, at the age of 75. Born Wilfred Allen Snivley, he was most famous among rockabilly collectors for his "Please Give Me Something" on Imperial. He also previously recorded for Eldorado and performed his whole life in the Akron, Ohio, area as well as in other US states.

Vern Stovall RIP

Country music singer and songwriter Vern Stovall passed away on December 21, 2012, at the age of 84. Born in 1928, Stovall recorded for such labels as Longhorn, Monument, Crest, and others. In addition, he was a talented songwriter and penned tunes for such artists as Merle Haggard, Lonnie Smith, Elvis Presley, and others.

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Alden 'Shorty' Holloway RIP

Country and Rock'n'Roll musician Alden "Shorty" Holloway passed away on January 1, 2013 at the age of 87. He was a native of Moko, Arkansas, where he was born in 1925. He performed professionally for a long time and appeared with such stars as Porter Waggoner, Little Jimmy Dickens, and many others. He is best remembered by Rock'n'Roll collectors for such songs as "Blast Off," which he recorded for Dixie in 1958.

Read more at hillbilly-music.com.

Kitty Wells RIP

Female country music superstar Kitty Wells died on July 17, 2012, at her home after a stroke. She was 92 years old. Wells was country music's first successful female solo singer and was a major chart topper for 14 years, beginning in 1952.

Born in 1919, Wells married Johnnie Wright (who also became a famous country singer) in 1937 and began appearing with him and his new act, Johnnie & Jack and the Tennessee Mountain Boys. In the late 1940s, the duo of Johnnie & Jack rose to fame with their hit recordings on RCA-Victor. Wells signed with Decca and had her breakthrough hit in 1952 with "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." Other hits were "Making Believe," "Release Me," or "Amigo's Guitar." She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1976.

Read more at hillbilly-music.com.

RIP Eddy Bell / Doc Watson

In the last few days, the music business has lost two great musicians, both of them were masters in their fields.

Polka legend and rock'n'roll star Eddy Bell aka Eddie Blazonczyk died May 21, 2012, in a hospital in Chicago. He led America's number one polka band for decades but retired in 2002 due to health problems. He was 70 years old.

Folk music legend Doc Watson passed away on May 29, 2012, in Wake Forest Baptist Hospital Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The blind guitar picker from North Carolina was one of the most influential musicians during the last 50 years and has influenced generations of folk/country guitarists. He also teamed up with such legends as Merle Travis, Bill Monroe, or Clarence Ashley. He was 89 years old.

Larry Donn RIP

Arkansas rockabilly legend Larry Donn died May 1, 2012. This message is an especially sad one to me since I had steady conctact with him over the last time. He was a friendly person and always willing to help. He will be greatly missed.

Earl Scruggs RIP

One of the true legends passed away March 28, 2012. Earl Scruggs was 88 years old and is generally considered as being one of the most influential banjo players of all time. He was a member of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys and played an important role in developing the banjo bluegrass style. He later formed with Lester Flatt a duo called Flatt & Scruggs, their backing band were the Foggy Mountain Boys. One of their most famous tracks was the "Foggy Mountain Breakdown."

Read more here.

Eddie Cletro RIP

Country music singer Eddie Cletro died February 2, 2012. Cletro was born in 1918 and became a household name in California's 1940s and 1950s country music scene. He appeared on such shows as Town Hall Party and Foreman Phillips' Country Barn Dance as well as recording for various record labels, including Imperial, Sage & Sand, and Lariat. One of his most famous recordings was "Flyin' Saucer Boogie."

Billie Jo Spears RIP

Female country music singer Billie Joe Spears died December 14, 2011, at her home in Vidor, Texas. She started her career as a 13 years old teenager and was brought to Nashville by Jack Rhodes later. She had her first hit recordings in the late 1960s and had her biggest hit in 1975 with "Blanket on the Ground." She was 73 years old and was diagnosed with lung cancer recently.

Read more at hillbilly-music.com.

Jeanette Hicks RIP

Country music singer Jeanette Hicks died November 23, 2011, at her daughter's home. She was 78. Hicks, born in 1933, was a member of the Louisiana Hayride in the 1950s and recorded for such labels as Starday and Columbia. Her early recordings included duets with a young George Jones. She was originally from Texarkana, Texas, and also lived there at the time of her death. She was a member of the Louisiana Hayride Hall of Fame.


Read more at hillbilly-music.com.

Billy Barton R.I.P.

Country/rockabilly singer and songwriter John Grimes, better known as Hillbilly Barton, Billy Barton, or Billy Boy Barton, died October 8, 2011. He was born in 1929 in Kentucky and at age 21, moved to California where he appeared on KXLA and recorded for Abbott Records. He later also recorded for King, Radio, Gulf Reel, and Sims among others. He was the composer of "A Dear John Letter," a #1 hit for Ferlin Husky and Jean Shepard.

Read more at hillbilly-music.com.

Country Johnny Mathis RIP

Singer and songwriter "Country" Johnny Mathis died Tuesday September 27, 2011, at the age of 80 year in Nashville. He started his career in the late 1940s and was one half of the country/rockabilly duo Jimmy & Johnny. They had a top ten with "If You Don't Somebody Will." After the duo split up, Mathis continued his solo career and recorded for Columbia, Mercury, Little Darling, D, United Artists, and many others. He penned over 400 songs, some of them were recorded by stars like George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Webb Pierce, Charley Pride, Tammy Wynette, and others.

Johnnie Wright RIP

Country music star Johnnie Wright died at the age of 97 on September 27, 2011, in his home in Madison, Tennessee. White was married to female country superstar Kitty Wells for nearly 74. Wright was one half of the famed Johnnie & Jack duo, the other being Jack Anglin, who died in 1963. They had such hits as "(I Get So Lonely) Oh Baby Mine," "Poison Love" or "Goodnight Sweetheart." After Anglin's early death, Wright continued his solo career and had a number one hit with "Hello Vietnam" in 1965. He kept on performing with his wife until 2000.

Read more at tasteofcountry.com.