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20 Years Ago Today, Music Row Said Goodbye to Its “Den Mother,” Who Wrote Hits for Lefty Frizzell, Stonewall Jackson, and Jimmy Dean
Marijohn Wilkin, a songwriter and former touring musician known as the “Den Mother of Music Row”, died of heart disease on 28 October 2006, aged 86. Her publishing company helped launch the careers of songwriters who went on to shape country music.
After moving to Nashville in the late 1950s, Wilkin co-wrote “The Long Black Veil”, a top 10 country hit for Lefty Frizzell in 1959, and “Waterloo”, which Stonewall Jackson took to number one for five weeks that summer. In the mid-1960s she founded Buckhorn Music, signing writers including Johnny Duncan, Ed Bruce and Kris Kristofferson; its catalogue later included “For the Good Times”.
In short
- Marijohn Wilkin died in 2006, aged 86.
- She co-wrote major hits for Lefty Frizzell and Stonewall Jackson.
- Her Buckhorn Music company backed songwriters including Kris Kristofferson.
Explained simply
Music Row is Nashville’s cluster of music businesses, including publishers who help songwriters get their songs recorded and heard. In country music, a publisher can connect writers with performers and record companies, and build a catalogue of songs for future use.
Marijohn Wilkin was a songwriter and touring musician who moved to Nashville in the late 1950s. Her songs were recorded by country singers including Lefty Frizzell and Stonewall Jackson, and she later founded Buckhorn Music, a publishing company.
Buckhorn Music signed writers such as Johnny Duncan, Ed Bruce and Kris Kristofferson. Its story matters because music publishers helped shape which writers and songs reached country audiences, and Wilkin’s company supported several writers who became established in the genre.
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