Billy Edward "Edd" Wheeler (born December 9, 1932, Boone County, West Virginia, United States) is an American songwriter, performer, writer, and visual artist. His songs include "

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

" ( Grammy award winner for Johnny Cash and

June Carter June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in t ...

) "

The Reverend Mr. Black "The Reverend Mr. Black" (also, "The Lonesome Valley") is a 1963 song by Billy Edd Wheeler, Mike Stoller, and Jerry Leiber. Background The chorus came from the 1931 folk song, "The Lonesome Valley," recorded by the Carter Family. Kingston Trio r ...

", "Desert Pete", "Ann", " High Flyin' Bird", "The Coming of the Roads", " It’s Midnight", "Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back", "Coal Tattoo", "Winter Sky", and "

Coward of the County "Coward of the County" is a song written by Roger Bowling and Billy Edd Wheeler, and recorded by American country music singer Kenny Rogers. The song was released in November 1979 as the second single from Rogers' multi-platinum album ''Kenny''. ...

" (which inspired a 1981 television movie of the same name) and have been performed by over 160 artists including Judy Collins, Jefferson Airplane,

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

Hazel Dickens Hazel Jane Dickens (June 1, 1925 – April 22, 2011) was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provocative pro- unio ...

, Florence and the Machine,

Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reac ...

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatr ...

, and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. "Jackson" was also recorded by

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academ ...

and

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

for the movie ''

Walk the Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical musical romantic drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies authored by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, 1975's '' M ...

''. His song "Sassafras" was covered in the folk rock era by

Modern Folk Quartet The Modern Folk Quartet (or "MFQ") was an American folk music revival group that formed in the early 1960s. Originally emphasizing acoustic instruments and group harmonies, they performed extensively and recorded two albums. In 1965, as the Mode ...

and

The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band (WCPAEB) was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group created music that possessed an eerie, and at times sinister atmosphere, and contained material that was ...

. Wheeler is the author-composer of eight plays and musicals, a folk opera (''Song of the Cumberland Gap''), commissioned by the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...

, and three outdoor dramas: the long-running ''Hatfields & McCoys'' at Beckley, West Virginia, ''Young Abe Lincoln'' at

Lincoln City, Indiana Lincoln City is an unincorporated community in Carter Township, Spencer County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. It lies five minutes south of Interstate 64, northeast of Evansville, and approximately twenty miles north of t ...

, and ''Johnny Appleseed'', at

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The ci ...

. He has authored six books of humor, four with

Loyal Jones Loyal may refer to: * Loyalty Music * ''Loyal'' (album), by Dave Dobbyn, 1988 ** "Loyal" (Dave Dobbyn song) * ''The Loyal'', an album by Tiger Lou, 2005 * "Loyal" (Chris Brown song), 2013 * "Loyal" (PartyNextDoor song), 2019 * "Loyal", a son ...

Berea, Kentucky Berea is a home rule-class city in Madison County, Kentucky, in the United States. The town is best known for its art festivals, historic restaurants and buildings, and as the home to Berea College, a private liberal arts college. The population ...

: ''Laughter in Appalachia'', ''Hometown Humor USA'', ''Curing the Cross-Eyed Mule'', and ''More Laughter in Appalachia'', and two as sole author: ''Outhouse Humor'', and ''Real Country Humor / Jokes from Country Music Personalities''. His first novel, ''Star of Appalachia'', was published in January 2004, and his second, co-written with Ewel Cornett, ''Kudzu Covers Manhattan'', in 2005. ''Song of a Woods Colt'', a book of poetry, was published in 1969. ''Travis and Other Poems of the Swannanoa Valley (With Some Poems and Prayers by Dr. Henry W. Jensen)'' was published in 1977. He was the featured author in ''Appalachian Heritage'' magazine's 2008 winter issue, which included 16 of his original paintings.

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

’s ''

Our State ''Our State'' (full title: ''Our State: Down Home in North Carolina'') is a monthly magazine based in Greensboro, North Carolina, featuring travel and history articles and photographs about North Carolina people, places and events. First publishe ...

'' magazine featured him in its December 2007 issue. In 2018, Billy Edd published a book of memoirs entitled "Hotter Than A Pepper Sprout", a Hillybilly poet's journey from Appalachia to Yale to writing hits for Elvis, Johnny Cash & More.

Biography

Wheeler was born on December 9, 1932. He graduated from

Warren Wilson College Warren Wilson College (WWC) is a private liberal arts college in Swannanoa, North Carolina. It is known for its curriculum that combines academics, work, and service as every student must complete a requisite course of study, work an on-campu ...

in 1953, and

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every a ...

in 1955. After serving as a student pilot in the Navy, he served as Alumni Director of Berea College. Wheeler recorded a couple of albums for Monitor Records, then from 1961 to 1962 he attended the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

, majoring in playwriting. With Ewel Cornett, he co-wrote the musical ''Hatfields and McCoys'', which has been performed annually since 1970 by Theatre West Virginia in the Grandview Cliffside Amphitheatre (part of the

New River Gorge National River The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is a unit of the United States National Park Service (NPS) designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains. Established in 1978 as a nati ...

area). He is married to the former Mary Mitchell Bannerman. They have two adult children, Lucy and Travis, and live in Swannanoa, North Carolina. In the 1968 book by Milt Okun ''Something to Sing About: the personal choices of America's folk singers'' Wheeler's choice was "Turtle Dove" ( Fare Thee Well).

Discography

Albums

Singles

Awards

Wheeler was inducted into the

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is ...

in 2001, the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2007, and the

North Carolina Music Hall of Fame The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization and museum in Kannapolis, North Carolina that was created to honor musicians, composers and artists with ties to North Carolina that have made significant impact in the music indus ...

in 2011. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from his two alma maters:

in 2004, and

in 2011. He has received 13 awards from ASCAP, the "Best Appalachian Poetry" from

Morris Harvey College The University of Charleston (UC) is a private non-profit university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. The university also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley. History The school was founded in 1888 ...

, and

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the musi ...

’s "Pacesetter Award for Music and Drama". In June 2005, Country Music Television voted "Jackson" one of the Ten Greatest Love Songs of Country Music.

Bibliography

* ''Song of a Woods Colt'', Droke House (Anderson, SC) 1969 * ''Travis & Other Poems of the Swannanoa Valley'', Wild Goose, Inc.

References

External links

Billy Edd Wheeler
official web site {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Billy Edd 1932 births Living people American country singer-songwriters American male poets 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights People from Boone County, West Virginia Berea College alumni American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Singer-songwriters from West Virginia