Stonewall Jackson passed away Saturday, December 4th 2021, at the age of 89 after a battle with vascular dementia.

Stonewall, know for his 1959 number-one hit “Waterloo” joined the Grand Ole Opry three years earlier in November of 1956.

After news of Stonewall’s passing reached him, fellow Opry legend Bill Anderson shared, “Stonewall Jackson was one of the first Opry stars I met when I started coming to Nashville, and as two ol’ boys with Georgia roots, we became fast friends. We toured the U.S. and Canada together, sharing a lot of laughs and a lot of country music. He was about as ‘genuine’ a person as I’ve ever known. He will certainly be missed.”

Born November 11th, 1932 in North Carolina, Stonewall was named after Civil War General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson as there was believed to be a family connection. But, unlike the General who carried “Stonewall” as a nickname, the country singer had it as his given name.

Before music Stonewall served in the US Navy in the early 1950s. He also owned a Georgia based log-trucking company in the 50s.

In 1958 Stonewall released his first single, “Life To Go” – written by the great George Jones.

Jackson’s second single, and first number-one, “Waterloo” arrived the following year in ’59.

Stonewall would go on to release more that 40 songs to radio, with his only other trip to the top of the Billboard chart came 1964 with “B.J. The D.J.”

Jackson is also credited with making the first “live” album at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville with his 1971 project, Recorded Live At The Grand Ole Opry. Talking about that album Stonewall shared, “We went in and recorded a few new songs, and a few of the hits I already had, kind of like I did my show out on the road. It was a real good seller for me.”

Stonewall Jackson was inducted in the North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame in 2012.

Check out this bio segment created by the NCMHoF in 2013.

Photo Credit: David Redfern/Redferns/Getty