A key innovator of the famous “Nashville sound”, Bob Ferguson was responsible for producing most of the duet albums recorded by Dolly Parton and her longtime duet partner, Porter Wagoner. Additionally, he wrote the country classics “Wings of a Dove” and “The Carroll County Accident”, both of which were recorded by Wagoner. Ferguson also served as executive assistant to legendary producer Chet Atkins until the latter’s retirement.
On this day (July 22) in 2001, Bob Ferguson died of cancer at the University of Mississippi Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. He was 73 years old. Today, we’re honoring his life and career on the 25th anniversary of his passing.
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Bob Ferguson’s Life Before Nashville
Born December 30, 1927, in Willow Springs, Missouri, Robert Bruce “Bob” Ferguson held multiple jobs before his time in music.
After graduating from high school in 1945, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of sergeant and spending two winters as a radioman in Alaska.
Following his discharge from the military, Ferguson worked as a fire tower lookout and trail crew boss for the U.S. Forest Service; a laborer in the wheat fields; and a typesetter for a newspaper in Moses Lake, Washington.
Taking advantage of the GI Bill, he later earned his bachelor’s degree in speech from Washington State College in Pullman. During his time in college, Ferguson joined a Marine Forces reserve unit, serving as a drill instructor and producer of Marine training motion pictures.
Arriving in Music City
In the late 1950s, Bob Ferguson worked for the Tennessee Game and Fish Commission in Nashville, where he produced a highly influential film series called The World Outdoors.
He also got his start in the music business during this time, writing the song “On the Wings of a Dove” in 1958.
Recorded by Ferlin Husky in 1960, the song topped the country & Western chart for 10 nonconsecutive weeks.
Later appearing in the 1983 film Tender Mercies starring Robert Duvall, Ferguson received the BMI “million air” plays award for “Wings of a Dove” in 1987.
The success of “Wings of a Dove” allowed Ferguson to direct all his attention to his music career, and he moved to Nashville to manage Husky full time.
He became a senior producer with RCA Victor, working on records by Floyd Cramer, Lester Flatt, Charley Pride, and more.
Ferguson’s other songwriting successes include the Country Music Association’s 1969 Song of the Year, “The Carroll County Accident”. Porter Wagoner took his recording to number two on the country charts.
Of the song’s conception, Ferguson said, “I was driving through Tennessee on my way to Mississippi when I passed an interstate sign that said ‘Carroll County,’ and I said to myself, ‘If I don’t slow down, I’ll be the Carroll County accident,’ and then I thought, ‘If that isn’t a song title, I’ve never heard one.’”
Ferguson also produced some of Dolly Parton’s best-known work, including “Coat of Many Colors”, “Jolene”, “I Will Always Love You”, and “My Tennessee Mountain Home”.
Non-Musical Endeavors
Not all of Bob Ferguson’s contributions were musical. While working at RCA, he completed a master’s degree in anthropology from Vanderbilt University. He later became a historian of the Choctaw tribe of Indigenous Americans.
He was also an author, writing the books So You Want to Be in Music and Southeastern Indians: Then and Now.
Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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