Country Music Legend & Sausage Man Jimmy Dean Dies at 81

[308Mike]

Linkarooni

Country Music Legend Jimmy Dean Dies at 81

Published June 13, 2010

| Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. -- Jimmy Dean, a country music legend for his smash hit about a workingman hero, "Big Bad John," and an entrepreneur known for his sausage brand, has died. He was 81.

His wife, Donna Meade Dean, says her husband died at 7:54 p.m. Sunday at their Henrico County, Va., home, south of Richmond.

She tells The Associated Press that he had some health problems but was still functioning well, so his death came as a shock.

Born in 1928, Dean was raised in poverty in Plainview, Texas, and dropped out of high school after the ninth grade. But he went on to a successful entertainment career in the '50s and '60s.

In 1969, Dean went into the sausage business, starting the Jimmy Dean Meat Co. He sold the company to Sara Lee Corp. in 1984.

[AZMARK]

R.I.P. Jimmy

[mekender]

Ima make some sausage in his memory this weekend.

[Fivetoes]

His sausage may be good but it doesn't have enough fat in it to fry an egg.

RIP Jimmy.

[Bob K]

Had a couple of his breakfast biscuits this morning. Love 'em.

Requiesicat in Pace.

[Rich]

Hope my breakfast sausages don't start tasting funny in the next few weeks.

(Note; I usually start the day with a JD sausage, egg and cheese croissant or muffin, with orange juice and coffee.)

[randy]

Hope my breakfast sausages don't start tasting funny in the next few weeks.

Just don't get the Soylent Green special edition breakfast sandwiches.

[Bob K]

IIRC, "Soylent Green" was Edward G. Robinson's last movie. And it was pretty awful.