Johnnie Wright's Obituary
True pioneer of country music, Johnnie Wright, age 97, passed away Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at his home in Madison, TN. Funeral services will be held Friday, September 30, 2011 at 2 p.m., at the Madison Church of Christ, with Bro. Steve North officiating. Burial will follow in Spring Hill Cemetery, with his nephews serving as Pallbearers. Serving as Honorary Pallbearers will be his former band members, The Tennessee Mountain Boys. The family will receive friends at the church on Thursday, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. - 8 p.m., and again on Friday from 12 Noon - 1:30 p.m. Johnnie was born on May 13, 1914 in Mt. Juliet, TN to the late John Robert and Maggie Hughley Wright. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his daughter, Ruby Wright Taylor. He is survived by his wife of 74 years, Muriel Deason Wright "Kitty Wells"; son, Bobby Wright; daughter, Sue Wright Sturdivant; grandchildren, Larry (Duke) Stephenson, Kitty Ervin, Corrie Cluck, LeAnn Henson, Kamela Stewart, John Sturdivant, Jr., David Sturdivant and Stephanie Sturdivant; 12 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great-grandchildren; and devoted nieces and nephews. He was a member of Madison Church of Christ where he served for many years as a deacon. He was founding member of the Madison Children's Home. Johnnie began his career in 1937 with his wife, Kitty Wells, Queen of Country Music. He later formed the legendary duo, Johnnie & Jack, with his brother-in-law, Jack Anglin, acclaimed as The Most Popular Country Duo of the 1950s. After Jack's death in 1963, Johnnie charted a #1 single as a solo artist. His song "Hello Vietnam" was popularized in the movie "Full Metal Jacket". Johnnie continued his career touring with The Family Show until 2007. All visitation and services will be held at Madison Church of Christ, 106 Gallatin Rd. North, Madison, TN 37115 AUSTIN & BELL in charge of funeral arrangements (615) 384-1000Excerpt from the Tennessean:NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Johnny Wright, a country music pioneer who had hits as a singer in the duo Johnnie and Jack and guided the career of his wife, Kitty Wells, died early Tuesday. He was 97.Close family friend Eddie Stubbs said Wright died of natural causes around 1 a.m. at his home. He had been in failing health for some time. Stubbs said that as a lifelong Nashville resident, Wright was a witness to most of country music's greatest moments.Wright remembered WSM going on the air in 1925 and heard the first broadcast of Uncle Jimmy Thompson, an event that would evolve into the Grand Ole Opry. Later he started his own career and married Wells, the first woman to break through as a star in country music, in 1937."With the passing of Johnny Wright, it really brings an end to an era," said Stubbs, a WSM radio host who came to town as a fiddler for Wright and Wells. "He saw it all happen right in front of his very eyes, then got to become an active participant in the music, too."His death was first reported by The Tennessean newspaper.Wright came to fame as a member of the country duo Johnnie and Jack, which recorded hits such as "Ashes of Love," ''I Get So Lonely," ''Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" and "Poison Love" in the late 1940s and early 1950s.Jack Anglin, who was married to Johnny Wright's sister, died in a car crash in 1963.Wright changed the spelling of his name from Johnnie after it was misprinted on a record, then began a solo career with a No. 1 hit "Hello Vietnam," later featured in the 1987 movie "Full Metal Jacket."Wells and Wright had three children: two daughters and a son, Bobby, who also was a singer and actor. He played the part of Willie, a Tennessee moonshiner, on the TV series "McHale's Navy."Wells was known as "the queen of country music" after she became the first woman solo singer to have a No. 1 country record, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honk y Tonk Angels," in 1952. The couple's 74th anniversary would have been Oct. 30."He managed her career and put her career ahead of his own," Stubbs said. "Despite what you read in all these tabloids, Kitty Wells is still the queen of country music, and he managed her career, found all her songs. He guided her career. All the women of country music owe this debt of gratitude to Kitty Wells. Had it not been for Johnny Wright guiding her, there would not have been a Kitty Wells. He's an extremely important man. The billboard hits don't tell the story."
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