As the end of the year draws near, it comes time to reflect on all the country music greats big and small, superstars and sidemen, session players and songwriters, who passed away in the past year, and pay our respects to the contributions they made to country music, and to us as fans through the music they shared.
We may never see a year like we experienced in 2016, when such an unmerciful parade of country greats passing away left us with a renewed appreciation for the legends while their still living. But every death, from the often under-heralded songwriters and behind-the-scenes session musicians, to the principal members of huge Southern rock bands, is significant.
The husband, manager, and long-time right hand man of the Queen of Rock and Rockabilly has died. Wendell Goodman, who married Jackson in 1961, passed away on Sunday, May 21st after Wanda Jackson performed Saturday evening at the club Saturn in Birmingham, Alabama.