2 Years Ago Today, We Lost the Hall of Fame Songwriter Who Penned Johnny Cash’s “Jackson” and Kenny Rogers’ “Coward of the County”

September 16, 2026, 7:15pm

On this day (September 16) in 2024, Billy Edd Wheeler died in his Swannanoa, North Carolina, home at the age of 91. He is best remembered as the songwriter behind “Jackson,” which was a Grammy-winning hit for Johnny Cash and June Carter, and Kenny Rogers’ “Coward of the County.” Wheeler also wrote or co-wrote eight plays and musicals, multiple outdoor dramas, and a folk opera. Additionally, he was an author with nine titles in his catalog.

Wheeler is one of the best-educated songwriters in the history of country music. He graduated from Warren Wilson Junior College in North Carolina before attending Berea College in Kentucky. He then served two years in the United States Navy as a student pilot. Then, Wheeler did graduate studies at the Yale School of Drama, where he studied playwriting, according to his website.

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Billy Edd Wheeler Wrote Classic Hits

Wheeler found his first success as a songwriter in 1963. That year, the Kingston Trio took “The Reverend Mr. Black” to No. 4 on the Hot 100. Two years later, he had his only hit as a recording artist when “Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back” reached No. 3 on the country chart.

Johnny Cash had two major hits with Billy Edd Wheeler’s songs. First, he and June Carter took “Jackson” to No. 2 on the country chart in 1967. Their rendition also won the Grammy for Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio, or Group. Two years later, Cash took “Blistered” to No. 4 on the country chart.

In 1979, Kenny Rogers had a major hit with “Coward of the County.” It spent three weeks at the top of the country chart and peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100. It also went to No. 1 in Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

Wheeler’s Other Works

Billy Edd Wheeler didn’t just write hit songs. He also wrote several plays and books. He penned three novels–The Boston Cowgirl, A Song to Die For, and Kudzu Covers Manhattan. Wheeler also published two books of poetry–Song of a Woods Colt and Travis and Other Poems of the Swannanoa Valley. He also co-authored multiple books of jokes and humorous essays with Loyal Jones.

Wheeler also wrote several plays, musicals, and outdoor dramas. Below is a list of his most critically acclaimed work for the stage.