Stonewall Jackson

• Name — Stonewall Jackson • Born — 6 November 1932 • Birthplace — Tabor City, North Carolina, U.S. • Genre — * Country • honky-tonk • Past Member Of — * Ray Price • Hank Williams • Lefty Frizzell • Ernest Tubb • Occupation — * Singer • musician • Instruments — * Vocals • acoustic guitar • Years Active — 1956–2012 • Label — Columbia • Place of death — Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.

Born in Tabor City, North Carolina on November 6, 1932, Jackson was the youngest of three children. Stonewall is not a nickname; he was named after Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. His father believed himself to be a descendant of the general, a claim that was reproduced in some of Jackson's publicity, but that is unlikely. When Stonewall was two, his father died after which his mother moved the family to Moultrie in South Georgia, where he grew up first working under his abusive sharecropper stepfather, and then under his uncle, who was also a sharecropper. Jackson lied about his age and enlisted in the Army at 16, but was soon discharged when his lie was discovered. He subsequently joined the Navy in 1950 and was discharged in 1954. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1956. Jackson later wrote a memoir From the Bottom Up: The Stonewall Jackson Story as Told in His Own Words about his childhood.

After hearing Jackson's demo tape, Wesley Rose, president of Acuff-Rose Music, arranged for Jackson to audition for the Grand Ole Opry. Jackson became the first artist to join the Grand Ole Opry before obtaining a recording contract. He toured with Ernest Tubb, who became his mentor. Jackson signed with Columbia Records in 1957. His breakthrough came in the country Top 40 in late 1958, with a song written by a young George Jones, "Life to Go". It peaked at No.2 in early 1959 and his follow-up record, "Waterloo", was No.1 for five weeks, and crossed over into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it reached No. 4. The track also reached No. 24 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1959. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The song was a haunting and catchy tune that states "Everybody has to meet his Waterloo", meaning their fate. The song cites Adam, Napoleon and Tom Dooley as examples. His next No. 1 hits came in 1964 with "Don't Be Angry" and "B.J. the D.J." (Jackson's foray into the teenage tragedy song trope, about an over-worked country music radio station disc jockey, who crashes his car in a rainstorm). In 1971, Jackson was the first artist to record a live album from the Grand Ole Opry with Recorded Live At The Grand Ole Opry. His other hit songs include "The Carpet on the Floor", "Why I'm Walkin'", "A Wound Time Can't Erase", and "I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water". Jackson also recorded a cover version of Lobo's 1971 hit, "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo", which became Jackson's final top 10 hit. From 1958 to 1971, Jackson had 35 Top 40 country hits.

In 2006, Jackson sued the Grand Ole Opry for $10 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages, claiming age discrimination. As a member of the Opry for over 50 years, Jackson believed management was sidelining him in favor of younger artists. In his court filing, Jackson claimed that Opry general manager Pete Fisher stated that he did not "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". The lawsuit was settled on October 3, 2008 for an undisclosed amount and Jackson returned to performing on the show. He was a member of the Opry from 1956 until his death. He largely retired from performing by 2012, with his last public performance being at the funeral of his longtime friend George Jones. Jackson lived on a farm in Brentwood, Tennessee, where his wife Juanita died on January 11, 2019. She was also his personal manager and operated his song publishing company, Turp Tunes. He has a son, Stonewall Jackson Jr. He was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame on October 11, 2012. Jackson died in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 4, 2021, at the age of 89, from complications of vascular dementia.

• Year — Album — US Country — Label • 1959 — The Dynamic Stonewall Jackson — Columbia • 1962 — The Sadness in a Song • 1963 — I Love a Song — 2 • 1965 — Trouble & Me — 15 • The Exciting Stonewall Jackson • Stonewall Jackson's Greatest Hits — 20 • 1966 — All's Fair in Love 'n' War — 5 • 1967 — Help Stamp Out Loneliness — 36 • Country • 1968 — Nothing Takes the Place of Loving You — 34 • The Great Old Songs — 38 • 1969 — Old Country Church • Greatest Hits 2 • Tribute to Hank Williams • 1970 — The Lonesome in Me • The Real Thing • 1971 — Recorded Live at the Grand Ole Opry • Me and You and a Dog Named Boo • 1972 — The World • 1976 — Greatest Hits — GRT • 1979 — Platinum Country — Little Darlin' • Bad Ass • 1981 — Stars of the Grand Ole Opry — 1st Generation • 1983 — Audiograph Live — Audiograph

• Year — Single — Chart Positions — Album • US Country — US Cash Box Country — US — CAN Country • 1958 — "Life to Go" — 2 — 1 — The Dynamic Stonewall Jackson • 1959 — "Waterloo" — 1 — 1 — 4 • "Smoke Along the Track" — 24 — 30 • "Igmoo (The Pride of South Central High)" — 29 — 16 — 95 — single only • 1960 — "Mary Don't You Weep" — 12 — 8 — 41 — The Dynamic Stonewall Jackson • "Why I'm Walkin'" — 6 — 8 — 83 • "Life of a Poor Boy" — 15 — 22 — singles only • "A Little Guy Called Joe" — 13 — 11 • 1961 — "Greener Pastures" — 26 — 14 — The Sadness in a Song • "Hungry for Love" — 27 — 13 • 1962 — "A Wound Time Can't Erase" — 3 — 1 — I Love a Song • "Second Choice" — 18 — 38 — The Sadness in a Song • "One Look at Heaven" — 11 — 14 • "Leona" — 9 — 33 • 1963 — "Can't Hang Up the Phone" — 11 — 8 — single only • "Old Showboat" — 8 — 11 — Trouble & Me • "Wild Wild Wind" — 15 — 11 — I Love a Song • 1964 — "B.J. the D.J." — 1 — 2 • "Not My Kind of People" — 24 — 27 — Trouble & Me • "Don't Be Angry" — 4 — 4 — 3 — I Love a Song • 1965 — "I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water" — 8 — 4 — Trouble & Me • "Trouble and Me" — 30 — 35 • "Lost in the Shuffle" — 22 — Stonewall Jackson's Greatest Hits • "Poor Red Georgia Dirt" — 44 — singles only • "If This House Could Talk" — 24 — 18 • 1966 — "The Minute Men (Are Turning in Their Graves)" — 24 — 19 — All's Fair in Love 'N' War • "Blues Plus Booze (Means I Lose)" — 12 — 21 • 1967 — "Help Stamp Out Loneliness" — 5 — 5 — Help Stamp Out Loneliness • "Promises and Hearts (Were Made to Break)" — 15 — 13 • "This World Holds Nothing (Since You're Gone)" — 27 — 27 — Country • 1968 — "Nothing Takes the Place of Loving You" — 39 — 20 — Nothing Takes the Place of Loving You • "I Believe in Love" — 31 — 35 • "Angry Words" — 16 — 15 — 13 — Greatest Hits 2 • 1969 — "Somebody's Always Leaving" — 52 — 47 — The Lonesome in Me • "'Never More' Quote the Raven" — 25 — 18 — 13 • "Ship in the Bottle" — 19 — 34 • 1970 — "Better Days for Mama" — 72 • "Born That Way" — 72 — The Real Thing • "Oh Lonesome Me" — 63 — 52 • 1971 — "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo" — 7 — 5 — 3 — Me and You and a Dog Named Boo • "Push the Panic Button" • 1972 — "That's All This World Needs" (w/ Brentwood Children's Choir) — 51 — 50 — The World • "Torn from the Pages of Life" — 71 — 52 — singles only • 1973 — "I'm Not Strong Enough (To Build Another Dream)" — 70 • "True Love Is the Thing" • "Herman Schwartz" — 41 — 50 — 89 • "Ol' Blue" • 1974 — "Don't Be Late" — Greatest Hits • 1978 — "Spirit of Saint Louis" — Bad Ass • "Walk Out on Me (Before I Walk All Over You)" — single only • "My Favorite Sin" — Bad Ass • 1979 — "Point of No Return" — singles only • "Listening to Johnny Paycheck" • 1981 — "Full Moon Empty Pockets" — Stars of the Grand Ole Opry • 1983 — "Let the Sun Shine on the People" — Audiograph Live