Born: August 10, 1928 in Plainview, TX, died June 13, 2010 in Varina, VA.

Inducted: 2009 by Tom “Cat” Reader

Biography: While stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Jimmy Dean formed a country music band called The Texas Wild Cats and began playing various country music clubs in Washington, D.C., with the most notable being the Famous on New York Ave. Thee he met Roy Clark and Patsy Cline. Later he got his own radio show on WARL in Arlington, VA. He hired Clark and Cline to work the show with him and it became very popular and lead to a recording contract for Dean. Dean signed with 4 Star records and recorded Bummin Around which became a country music hit in 1954.

The radio show, Town and Country Times, also led to Clark and Cline getting their start in country music as well. Clark was Dean’s lead guitarist and when he left, Billy Grammer was hired who later had the smash country music hit on Monument Records called Gotta Travel On.

The morning show was moved to afternoon each day and picked up by WMAL-TV. From there the show was moved to Saturday night and called The Town and Country Jamboree and televised from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. EST over most of Maryland and Virginia and it became very popular.

In 1957, Dean began to host Country Style on WTOP-TV each morning Monday through Friday from their studio in Washington, D.C. CBS picked up the show and ran it nationally for several months in the morning and called it The Morning Show. That led to a recording contract with Columbia Records. In 1961 Dean recorded Big Bad John which became a hit and sold several million copies. In 1962 he recorded PT-109 which became a top ten hit. Dean had many other recordings which reached the top forty as well.

Dean helped bring country music into the main stream of American music in the 60′s by hosting the Tonight Show when Johnny Carson was away and by later getting his own show in 1963 called The Jimmy Dean Show. Dean showcased country music best with Rodger Miller, George Jones, Buck Owens and others. Dean went on many variety shows of the day, Ed Sullivan and the The Hollywood Palace. When the TV shows ended, Dean turned to acting, appearing in Daniel Boone Fantasy Island and was in the movie, Diamonds are Forever.

In 1969 Dean formed the Jimmy Dean Sausage Company with his brother Don. It immediately became successful. In 1984 he sold the company to Consolidated Foods which later was renamed the Sara Lee Corporation. Dean stayed on as a spokesman for several years and retired from all association with the company in 2004.

A long time resident of Virginia, in 1997 the former governor of Virginia Jim Gilmore appointed him to the Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries. In 2004 Dean wrote a book entitled 30 Years of Sausage, 50 years of Ham. In1991 Dean married Donna Meade Dean who also was a singer, songwriter and recording artist. They lived in Chaffin’s Bluff which overlooked the James River near Richmond, VA.

In 2010 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He had three children, Garry, Robert and Connie with his first wife Mary Sue and two grandchildren. He died of natural causes at the age of 81 at his home in Varina, VA.