Country / Western

Merle Kilgore 4 Albums

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Wyatt Merle Kilgore (August 9, 1934 – February 6, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and manager.

Although born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Merle Kilgore was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. As a starry-eyed boy of fourteen he carried the guitar for Hank Williams at the Louisiana Hayride beginning a close relationship with the Williams family that would last three generations.

Kilgore went on to a career as a country music recording artist but had great success as a songwriter, co-writing with June Carter Cash the song "Ring of Fire" first recorded by her sister Anita Carter and later June Carter's husband Johnny Cash. With Claude King he also co-wrote King's big crossover hit, "Wolverton Mountain." Amongst others, he also penned "Johnny Reb" for Johnny Horton and the Tommy Roe pop music hit, "The Folk Singer."

A resident of Paris, Tennessee since 1986, he was also a prominent member of the business community. On April 7, 1986, he was named Executive Vice President and head of management of Hank Williams Jr. Enterprises. In addition to managing Hank Jr's career (along with that of Hank Jr’s Bama Band), Merle had a number of successful business ventures and held numerous leadership positions. Merle’s prominence in the country music community had grown in recent years through his involvement as Vice President of the Country Music Association and he had served on the CMA Board of Directors since 1989. Also contributing to his success was his position as President of both the Nashville Songwriter’s Foundation as well as the Nashville Songwriter’s Association International. In 1987, he was named an honorary State Senator for Tennessee. In 1993, Merle was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame in Lafayette, Louisiana and was also inducted into Shreveport’s Byrd High School Hall of Fame[1]. In 1998, Merle received the Legendary Songwriter’s Award from the North American County Music Association. Most recently, he hosted and performed at NSAI's Tin Pan South Legendary Songwriter's Acoustic Concert and was presented a prestigious award honoring him as “One of the world’s outstanding songwriters.” Merle had also served two terms as President of ROPE, International (Reunion of Professional Entertainers, Int.).

Merle was a long-time member of the Academy of Country Music and an active member of the Screen Actors Guild. As well as belonging to the NSAI and the American Federation of Musicians, Merle served as a board member for several organizations including the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame and the Tex Ritter Museum, both in Carthage, Texas. He also directed the operations of two offices, Hank Williams Jr. Enterprises in Paris, Tennessee and Merle Kilgore Management in Nashville, where he managed several other artists. In 1998, Kilgore was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In 2005, Merle Kilgore died from congestive heart failure while receiving treatment for lung cancer, and was interred in Hendersonville Memory Gardens in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

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