June 14, (PRINTWORDS NEWS) With the death of Jimmy Dean, the famous country music singer who had given a string of hits during 1960s and 70s, another chapter of the country music came to an end. He is known by many as the singer who produced the 1961 crossover hit “Big Bad John”but it would be very restrictive to say that he had only “Big Bad John” to his credit. Jimmy Dean was a multi-talented person who had in his life time engaged in various diverse activities that included not only hosting popular television and radio shows but also founding Jimmy Dean Sausage Company.
Jimmy Dean entered the world of entertainment as a host to a popular radio show named “Town and Country Times” on WARL after his initials tenure with the U. S. Air Force back in late 1940s. It acted as a stepping stone for Jimmy who went on to become one of the most popular country music singers in the next decade. Before “Big Bad John”, Jimmy also had another hit back in 1953 with “Bummin’ Around”. But there is no doubt about the fact that it was his heroic miner’s song “Big Bad John” that made him a household name for every Country music lover.
The “Big Bad John” that told the story of a coal mining hero held the position of the being the number one in the “Billboard” pop-charts. It was awarded the “gold disc” as more than I million copies of the music were sold. The song also brought to Jimmy the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. However, the “Big Bad John” is not the only hit that Jimmy delivered in his singing career. Many of his songs hit the Top 40 list like “Dear Ivan”, “Little Black Book” and the 1962 “PT-109″ also reached the Top 10. In 1960s he was a regular on television screen where he appeared in many variety shows and talk shows.
What is interesting about the life of Jimmy is the fact that he was a born entertainer who knew the art of entertaining. “The Jimmy Dean Show” was one such show that brought Country music close to the common people. The show brought many Country music singers who had never enjoyed limelight like Roger Miller, George Jones, Buck Owens to name some. Being an entertainer Jimmy also tried his luck in acting and many would still remember him as BBC says “a ‘reclusive Las Vegas Billionaire’ Willard Whyte in the 1971 James Bond movie, ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ “. It is this quality to of Dean as a singer and as an entertainer that was appreciated by. In 1997 Dean was honored by the prestigious Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame. Jimmy was inducted in the Country Music Hall Of Fame as recently as February 23, 2010. Although at the age of 81, Dean preferred to remain out of the limelight and spent a semi retirement life with his second wife in Henrico County, he had always remained one darling Country singer who lived king size life.
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