NASHVILLE CEMETERY TOUR - "CAN EVERYBODY SEE ME ALL RIGHT"

 

I am continuing my Nashville Cemetery tour with a visit to the Hendersonville Memorial Gardens in Hendersonville, Tennessee. This is another cemetery that is the final resting place of a number of notable Country Music personalities.

It is a large cemetery that has all flat markers. I know where some of the graves that I am looking for are located but for the others I am going to be relying on the Find-A-Grave GPS Coordinates and hope that they are close to being correct.

I am going to start at the Mausoleum. There are 5 people resting here that I want to find.  And right after I walk through the front doors, I take a quick look around and spot all 5 crypts.

HOWARD JENKINS: Howard is the brother of Harold Jenkins who is better known as Conway Twitty. In the 1940’s the brothers formed a band named “The Phillips County Ramblers” and had their own show every Saturday Morning on radio station KFFA in Helena, Arkansas.  When Harold became Conway, Howard continued to perform as a member of Conway’s Band known as “The Twitty Birds.” He also performed with his brother every Saturday Night on the Grand Ole Opry.

MAE BOREN AXTON: Most people don’t know her name but they do know her songs. Mae Axton was known as the 'Queen Mother of Nashville.'  She wrote more than 200 songs, 14 of which made the charts. Her most notable song was the Elvis Presley hit "Heartbreak Hotel," which was number one on the pop charts for 8 weeks, the country chart for 17 weeks. Her influence contributed to the success of many musical careers including Mel Tillis, Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson, Eddy Arnold, and Tanya Tucker She was also the mother of country singer Hoyt Axton.

SHEB WOOLEY: Just above the crypt of Mae Axton is the crypt of Singer, Songwriter and Actor Sheb Wooley. Sheb was born in Erick, Oklahoma the same town as another notable country Music Star, Roger Miller. Sheb worked as a rodeo rider and then formed his own band and performed on radio stations WLAC and WSM in Nashville, Tennessee. Sheb enjoy a long career as an actor, appearing with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly in the Classic Western, “High Noon” and with James Dean in “Giant.” He also joined Gene Hackman in the popular Basketball Movie, “Hoosiers.” On television, he played the role of 'Pete Nolan' in the popular "Rawhide" series from 1959 to 1966. In 1958, he released his most famous hit the novelty tune, "The Purple People Eater." The song went No. 1 on the pop charts and stayed there for six weeks.

JOHNNY RUSSELL: Right next to the crypt of Sheb Wooley is the crypt of Singer, Songewriter and Star of the Grand Ole Opry, Johnny Russell. As a songwriter, he is most famous for co-writing "Act Naturally," a song that was recorded by both Buck Owens and The Beatles. As a singer/songwriter it is known for such songs as “They Baptized Jesse Taylor,” “Catfish John,” and my favorite “Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer.” You would be hard pressed to find anyone in Nashville that would say anything bad about Johnny. He was known by many as "the big man with an even bigger heart" for both for being over 300 pounds and his pleasant, unselfish demeanor both on and off stage. He would start many of his performances by quipping, "Can everybody see me all right?" Johnny joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1985 and remained a member until his death in 2001.

CHARLIE WALKER: Just to the right of the crypts of Johnny Russell and Sheb Wooley is the crypt of Grand Ole Opry Star, Charlie Walker.  Charlie began is music career in the 1940’s performing with Bill Boyd’s Cowboy Ramblers in Dallas, Texas. Charlie’s first hit, "Only You, Only You" was co-written with Jack Newman and reached No. 9 on the country chart in January 1956. Charlie is perhaps best known for his hit, “Pick Me Up on Your Way Down,” which was written by Harlan Howard.  His other hits include "Who Will Buy the Wine", "Wild as a Wildcat", "Don't Squeeze My Sharmon", and "I Wouldn't Take Her to A Dogfight." Charlie Passed away from the complications of Cancer on September 12, 2008.

That’s about it for those resting in the Mausoleum here at the Hendersonville Memorial Gardens. This is a good place to end this post. Next time I am going to leave the mausoleum and move outside to the actual cemetery. There are about 10 graves that I would really like to find, Including Johnny and June Carter Cash, The Carter Family and Merle Kilgore. I know where to find them but some of the others were a little more difficult.