Stonewall Jackson

The performer was best known for being a longtime member of the historic and long-running show, The Grand Ole Opry.

According to People, executives from the Grand Ole Opry confirmed that the singer passed away on Saturday after a ‘long battle’ with vascular dementia.

The singer was born November of 1932 in Tabor City, North Carolina.

He later moved to Nashville in the hopes of starting a musical career, and notably visited the offices of publishing company Acuff-Rose in the hopes of gaining an audition.

He was introduced to Ernest Tubbs, who hired him as his opening act, and he was later given the Ernest Tubb Memorial Award for his contributions to country music in 1997.

Jackson eventually gained an audition for the Grand Ole Opry, and he joined the organization in 1956 without having a recording contract, eventually becoming its longest-lasting member.

His first hit, Life To Go, was released in 1958 and launched his career.

The singer went on to record numerous chart-topping tracks, including Waterloo, Don’t Be Angry and I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water.

According to the Associated Press, he racked up 44 singles on the Billboard country chart.

His final hit was a cover of Lobo’s song Me and You and a Dog Named Boo, which was released in 1971, which broke the Top 40 on the US country listing.

Jackson notably filed a federal age discrimination lawsuit against the Grand Ole Opry at the age of 75 in 2008.

Stonewall claimed that his performances at the show had been cut back significantly beginning in 1998, and he sued for $10 million in compensatory damages and another $10 million in punitive damages.

The musician later settled the lawsuit, with the terms of the agreement remaining withheld from the public.

Jackson went on to form his own publishing company, Turp Tunes, which was ran by Juanita up until her death.

The Associated Press also reported that he had privately published an autobiography entitled From the Bottom Up in 1991.

In 2013, the musician sat down for an interview with Music Charts Magazine and expressed that, while he understood the need to record albums, he was primarily focused on performing at the Opry.

‘I’m not putting down the record end of the business because that’s very important, too, But to me, the way I came here and all, the Grand Ole Opry’s been the mainstay in my career. I still love the Grand Ole Opry very, very much,’ he said.

The singer, who used the show as a way of refining his performances, also expressed that ‘I intend to play it as long as I can still sing Don’t Be Angry.’

A performance at the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday evening was dedicated to the singer’s memory.