Willie Ackerman (May 1, 1939 – December 13, 2012) was a professional American drummer whose career began in 1957 and ended in the 2000s. He performed with Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

Keith O'Conner Murphy Keith O'Conner Murphy (Keith Murphy) is an American songwriter, singer and recording artist. His contributions to the rockabilly genre of rock and roll music were recognized in 2002 when he was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He is a ...

and many other acts. Ackerman was an RCA Studios artist. Ackerman was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. He became a

Hee Haw ''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 1 ...

drummer, and was also at one time a drummer at the Grand Ole Opry. He recorded

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

' "El Paso" song in 1959, " Wings of a Dove" in 1960 and "

The Grand Tour ''The Grand Tour'' is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman, made for Amazon exclusively for its online streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November ...

" in 1974 along with

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

. He died in his sleep at his home and left behind his wife Jeannie Ackerman and son Trey Ackerman.

Personal life

Ackerman was a close friend of

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Di ...

. His son, Trey Ackerman is a country musician. He was 73 when he died.

References

1939 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American drummers Place of death missing 21st-century American drummers Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee American rock drummers American country drummers American jazz drummers American male drummers Country musicians from Tennessee Jazz musicians from Tennessee 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians {{US-drummer-stub