Roy Acuff

by Frank M. Roberts

January 2016

Nice begets nice. One of the nicest people I ever knew is Earl Wilkins of Windsor; one of the nicest people in the history of country music is a man who delighted fans of pure country thanks to his music and his personality.

Earl, and Roy Acuff had been close friends for nearly 40 years. The former introduced me to the latter, an introduction that led me to be a guest in the Acuff townhouse for a week or, as I like to phrase it, seven unforgettable days.

The townhouse, across the street from Kitty Well's home, was used by Acuff's family and friends when they visited Nashville, and I was proud to eventually be in the 'friends' category.

Acuff, a country music pioneer, an important personage in the early days of that genre, was a pleasant, friendly, considerate, easygoing, warm gentleman. That is not hearsay - that remark comes from personal experience.

I was there, with Earl and his mom, and my wife, Valeria, in '88. Acuff, himself, lived in a modest brick house a few feet from the back door of the ole Grand Ole Opry home. He was the only person allowed to live on the grounds of Opryland, a tribute to the respect given him. He moved there after his wife died. His maid, who had been a part of the family for many years, also moved there.

Acuff later died of congestive heart failure. Wilkins, who worked for Tidewater Farm Supply in Windsor, N. C. was asked to attend the invitation-only memorial service at the Roy Acuff Theater next to the Opry house.

He was surrounded by people like Porter Waggoner, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Chet Atkins, Connie Smith, Bill Monroe, Garth Brooks, Eddy Arnold and, from the baseball world, Tommy Lasorda.

Most of them knew Wilkins, referring to him by his nickname, Squirrel. He visited Nashville often, spending most of his time backstage at the Opry. One of the photographs there shows the two pals, Acuff and Wilkins, smilingly together.

I met Earl when I did a story on his country music connections. He and Acuff talked often on the phone, "and I visited him four or five times a year," said Wilkins, who often conducted bus tours of Nashville - knowing more about that city than most of its natives.

He and fiddler-singer-songwriter-jaw harp player-harmonica player Acuff were introduced by Jackie Phelps of Suffolk, VA. who used to play in Acuff's band, The Smoky Mountain Boys, toured with them for a decade, and later became a "Hee Haw" fixture with his unintelligible 'eechy-eechy'-gibberish, always a laugh-getter.

"Roy told me that whenever I came out, to consider myself his guest," said Wilkins, whose license plate used to read Opry 1.

An illustration of Acuff's consideration of others was the daily phone calls he made to be sure we were comfortable, and that there was enough food in the house. His daughter-in-law kept it clean.

One of the interesting things for me was the memorabilia there - old movie posters including those for films in which he starred, "O My Darling Clementine," and, "Night Train To Memphis."

Wilkins explained why Acuff was revered: "He was forthright, down-to-earth, loyal, and had a very strong sense of values."

That could also describe Earl Wilkins who added, "I cherish a lot of good memories. We talked about baseball (Acuff almost became a professional player), and the University of Tennessee football team.

"He liked to talk about politics, if you were a Republican," Wilkins said. In 1948, the performer was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor of Tennessee. His paternal grandfather was a state senator, his maternal grandfather, a physician. His dad was a preacher.

Family and friends spent a lot of time visiting Acuff's crowded office a few feet from the old Opry stage. Being there, talking to him and becoming his friend has remained a warm memory.

Earl and I remain friends, and he was a guest when my record exhibit opened at the Jeffcoat Museum in Murfreesboro, N. C. a few years ago, occupying their last empty room.

In his home he has a valuable, interesting collection of CDs, old records, photographs galore, and other memorabilia which he loves to show visitors.

They look, with awe at the collection he cannot look at. Earl lost his sight a few years ago. And, he had to retire his beloved license plate: Opry 1.

Take a look at the Acuff era: In 1962 he became the first artist elected to the Country Music Hall Of Fame while still alive; The singer-showman was known as, "the king of country music." His buddy, ballplayer-broadcaster Dizzy Dean, called him "King of the Hillbillies."; Acuff's sister studied to become an opera singer.

The performer won his spot on the Opry by singing, "Great Speckled Bird," once the official hymn of the Church Of God; Other major Acuff hits were "Wabash Cannonball," "Night Train To Memphis," "Fireball Mail," and "Wreck On the Highway."

An early Acuff recording was a saucy thing called, "When Lulu's Gone." And, he was very adept with the yo-yo, and balancing his fiddle on his chin, something he started at an early age by balancing farm tools on his chin.

In '42, he co-founded the first Nashville-based country music publishing company, Acuff-Rose, which signed such acts as Hank Williams Sr., Roy Orbison, and The Everly Brothers.

Roy and Earl - top of the list of the people I've known in more than half-a-century of writing about good folks.