Stonewall Jackson (musician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stonewall Jackson (born November 6, 1932) is a Country musician who achieved his greatest fame during Country's Golden Honky Tonk Era in the late 50's and early 60's. He was named after the famous general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, who was an ancestor.

His most popular song was "Waterloo" in 1959. The song is a haunting and catchy tune that states that "Everybody has to meet his Waterloo", meaning their fate or comeuppance. The song cites Adam, Napoleon and Tom Dooley as examples.

Stonewall Jackson was the first to join the Grand Old Opry before he got a recording contract. He signed to Columbia Records and debuted in 1958 with "Don't Be Angry". The song didn't score in the Top 40 (country), but it got him recognition. His breakthrough record debuted in the Country Top 40 in late 1958 with a song written by a youthful George Jones, "Life to Go". It peaked at #2 in early 1959 and his follow-up record, "Waterloo", was #1 for 5 weeks and crossed over into the Top 40 Pop charts, where it reached #4. His next #1 came in 1964, with "B.J. The D.J." (about an over-worked country music station DJ, who crashes his car in a rain storm because of bad tires). He was the first to record a live record from the Grand Old Opry, in 1963 with "Old Showboat". Other classics include "the Carpet On The Floor", "Why I'm Walkin'", "A Wound Time Can't Erase", and "I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water". From 1958 to 1971, he had 35 Top 40 Country Hits. Along with Ray Price, Stonewall Jackson is considered a cornerstone, after Hank Williams & Lefty Frizzell, in the hard drivin' Honky Tonk" sound in the late 50's and early 60's. It could be said that Stonewall was one of the last great honky tonkers, before the Nashville Sound and later the Bakersfield Sound took over Country Music in the 60's, before The Beatles and the British Invasion.

In 2006, Jackson sued the Grand Ole Opry for $10 million claiming age discrimination. While being a member of the Opry for over fifty years, Jackson believed that management was sidelining him in favor of younger artists. In his court filing, Jackson claims Opry general manager Pete Fisher stated he didn't "want any gray hairs on that stage or in the audience, and before I'm done there won't be any." Fisher is also alleged to have told Jackson that he was "too old and too country." ^[1]