American Songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler Dies at 91
If you’re a music lover, chances are you know and love a song written by the late Billy Edd Wheeler. Wheeler’s family confirmed that he passed away at home on Monday, September 16, 2024, at the age of 91. He was a songwriter, writer, performer and visual artist who wrote songs for over 160 artists in many different genres including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, Neil Young, Jefferson Airplane and Florence and the Machine.
Wheeler was born in West Virginia but moved to North Carolina to pursue his studies. He served in the Navy as a student pilot before enrolling in the Yale School of Drama with the encouragement of playwright Thornton Wilder. He wrote plays and musicals, including the long-running Hatfields & McCoys outdoor drama in his home state, novels, poetry and of course, hundreds of songs. One of his most famous songs is “Jackson,” sung by Johnny Cash and June Carter. It was also featured in the film Walk the Line, performed by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. While he is best known for his writing, he was also an avid painter.
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He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. “Billy Edd Wheeler was a songwriter who could pack an entire cinematic experience into a few short minutes,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “Perhaps it came from his West Virginia upbringing or his Yale Drama School pedigree, but whatever the case, Billy Edd had a narrative gift that enabled him to spin a silver screen-worthy tale of long-simmering anger in ‘Coward of the County’ or a spicy story about a marriage in jeopardy that came to represent the playful, hot-blooded dynamic between Johnny and June in ‘Jackson.’ Little wonder he also wrote novels and plays. His writing had the power to do what only the best creative works can: transport the listener.”
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In 2018, he published a memoir called Hotter Than a Pepper Sprout, referring to his song “Jackson.” He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Mary Bannerman Wheeler, his daughter Lucy Wheeler (Ted White) and his son, Travis Wheeler (Sarah Daubs).
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