Roy Acuff was born in Maynardville, Tennessee, to Ida Carr and Simon E. Neil Acuff (a Baptist preacher, judge and tenant farmer), the third of their five children. Originally, Acuff didn't plan to be a singer. Acuff sang in the church choir as a schoolboy, but he was more interested in sports, particularly baseball. Not only was he attracted to the sport, he had a wild streak — after his family moved to Knoxville, he was frequently arrested for fighting. Acuff continued to concentrate on playing ball, eventually becoming strong enough to earn a tryout for the major leagues. However, that tryout never took place. Before he had a chance to play, he was struck by a severe sunstroke while he was on a fishing trip; after the sunstroke, Acuff suffered a nervous breakdown. While he was recovering, he decided that a career in baseball was no longer possible, so he decided to become an entertainer. He began to learn the fiddle and became an apprentice of Doc Hauer, a local medicine show man.
While traveling with the medicine show, Acuff learned how to be a performer -- he learned how to sing, how to imitate, how to entertain, how to put on a show. Soon, Acuff joined the Tennessee Crackerjacks, who had a regular slot on Knoxville radio station WROL. Although he was performing frequently, he wasn't making any significant headway, failing to become a star in Tennessee. One song changed that situation -- "The Great Speckled Bird," an old gospel tune that had become popular with the Church of God sect. After another radio entertainer wrote the words out to the song, Acuff began performing it in his shows. Quickly, he became popular throughout the eastern part of Tennessee and was asked to record the song by ARC, a record label with national distribution. Acuff headed north to Chicago for a recording session, which resulted in 20 different songs. In addition to "The Great Speckled Bird," he recorded "Steamboat Whistle Blues" and "The Wabash Cannonball," another Tennessee standard that featured the singer imitating the sound of a train whistle; he also made a handful of risqué numbers during these sessions, which were released under the name the Bang Boys.
Music career
He then turned his attention to his father's fiddle and began playing in a traveling medicine show, often performing in blackface. He toured the Southern United States and eventually formed a band called "The Crazy Tennesseans".
In 1936, he recorded his two most enduring songs, the traditional The Great Speckled Bird and The Wabash Cannonball. He debuted at the Grand Ole Opry two years later. He was booked as a fiddler, and he should have played the Turkey Buzzard for a square dancing segment, but he decided to try and sing The Great Speckled Bird. His decision was not well received, however. Acuff became a regular on the Opry, forming a backing band called the Smoky Mountain Boys, led by friend and Dobro player Bashful Brother Oswald. By 1940 he was the star of the show.
The Great Roy Acuff LP (1964)Acuff's recording of The House of the Rising Sun on November 3, 1938 is the first known commercial recording of the song. He released several singles in the 1940s such as The Wreck on the Highway, Beneath That Lonely Mound of Clay and The Precious Jewel. During the 1940s he also appeared in eight movies.
In 1942, a man of many talents, he formed a music publishing venture with Chicago songwriter Fred Rose. Acuff-Rose Music became a country music phenomenon, owning huge numbers of copyrights including those by Marty Robbins, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and all of the songs of Hank Williams.
As his record sales declined in the late 1940s and 1950s, Acuff spent most of his time on the road, becoming one of the hottest tickets in country music. In 1962 he was the first living musician elected to The Country Music Hall of Fame. By the 1970s Acuff performed almost exclusively with the Grand Ole Opry, at Opryland USA, greatly legitimizing it as the top institution in country music. He made one rare appearance at Carlton Haney's Camp Spring Bluegrass Festival in 1971.
For his contribution to the recording industry, he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located on 1541 Vine St. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1991.
Political career
Acuff had a brief affair with politics, losing campaigns for the governor of Tennessee as a Republican in 1944 and 1948. In 1970, he campaigned for his friend Tex Ritter in his bid for the GOP nomination for a U.S. Senate seat from Tennessee.
Trivia
A popular legend is that Japanese troops during World War II would enter battle yelling, "To hell with Roosevelt! To hell with Babe Ruth! To hell with Roy Acuff!"
Acuff was initiated as an Entered Apprentice at the East Nashville Freemasonry Lodge in 1943, and raised to Master Mason in 1944. He was made a 33rd Degree Mason on 21 October 1985.
Acuff is thought to be one inspiration for Henry Gibson's character Haven Hamilton in Robert Altman's film Nashville. The fictionalized character was reportedly a composite of several well-known musicians, including Acuff and Hank Snow.
Acuff on recording: "A little secret of my policy in the studio ... whenever you once decide that you are going to record a number, put everything you've got into it. Don't say, 'Oh, we'll take it over and do it again' because every time you go through it you lose just a little something ... [l]et's do it the first time and to hell with the rest of them" - on the classic album Will the Circle Be Unbroken.
U.S. Olympian high jumper Amy Acuff is his distant cousin. Some sources erroneously list her as his daughter.
Wreck On The Highway
Roy Acuff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who was it fell by the way?
When whiskey and blood run together
Did you hear anyone pray?
I didn't hear nobody pray, dear brother
I didn't hear nobody pray
I heard the crash on the highway
When I heard the crash on the highway
I knew what it was from the start
I went to the scene of destruction
And a picture was stamped on my heart.
There was whiskey and blood all together
Mixed with glass where they lay
Death played her hand in destruction
But I didn't hear nobody pray.
I wish I could change this sad story
That I am now telling you
But there is no way I can change it
For somebody's life is now through.
Their soul has been called by the Master
They died in a crash on the way
And I heard the groans of the dying
But, I didn't hear nobody pray.
I didn't hear nobody pray, dear brother
I didn't hear nobody pray
I heard the crash on the highway
But, I didn't hear nobody pray.
In Roy Acuff's Wreck on the Highway, he tells a story about a tragic accident that occurred involving a person who had been drinking. The opening lines are a question to the singer's brother about who had died in the accident. The singer then goes on to say that they heard the crash but did not hear anyone praying. They describe how the whiskey and blood mixing together created a devastating scene with broken glass and death. The singer goes on to express a desire to change the story they are telling but acknowledges that they cannot. They heard the groans of the dying but did not hear anyone praying.
The song is a commentary on the dangers of drinking and driving, which was a prevalent issue in the '40s and '50s when the song was written. The lack of prayer implies a lack of a moral center in the situation. The singer is expressing the belief that the victim's death was a result of their actions and that they did not acknowledge the severity of their decisions. The song serves as a warning to listeners about the consequences of reckless behavior.
Line by Line Meaning
Who did you say it was brother?
Asking for the identity of the person who died on the highway
Who was it fell by the way?
Requesting information on the person who met their demise on the road
When whiskey and blood run together
Describing the scene of the accident that occurred on the highway
Did you hear anyone pray?
Inquiring if anyone offered a prayer during the fatal event
I didn't hear nobody pray, dear brother
Confirming that no one offered a prayer during the crash
I heard the crash on the highway
Saying that the sound of the accident was noticeably loud
But, I didn't hear nobody pray.
Continuing to emphasize that nobody prayed during the wreck
When I heard the crash on the highway
Recalling the moment of hearing the accident
I knew what it was from the start
Immediately recognizing that the sound was caused by a collision
I went to the scene of destruction
Going to the location where the accident took place
And a picture was stamped on my heart.
The devastation witnessed during the incident had a profound effect on the individual
There was whiskey and blood all together
Describing the sight of the spillage and wreckage caused by the accident
Mixed with glass where they lay
Reflecting on the aftermath of the crash and the shattered glass left behind
Death played her hand in destruction
Personifying death and acknowledging the destructive outcome
But I didn't hear nobody pray.
Continuing to highlight the absence of prayer during the tragic event
I wish I could change this sad story
Expressing a desire for a different outcome to the unfortunate event that unfolded
That I am now telling you
Relaying a distressing narrative to the listener
But there is no way I can change it
Understanding that the past cannot be altered and the events that transpired have already occurred
For somebody's life is now through.
Acknowledging the loss of a life due to the accident
Their soul has been called by the Master
Using religious terminology to describe the passing of the individual
They died in a crash on the way
Stating the exact event that caused the loss of life
And I heard the groans of the dying
Recalling the sounds made by the individuals critically injured during the collision
But, I didn't hear nobody pray.
Reiterating that prayer was not offered during the time of tragedy
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DORSEY DIXON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michail Zacho
A Truly Haunting True Country Song Tells Far more than is easily obvious!! The True Essence of Country Music, The True Music of The People!!
George Vreeland Hill
Roy Acuff - Real Country and the way Country Music should be.
Bat Punk
My grandad always seemed to pick this one as his favorite by Acuff.
Sadly, I think it was more of a heartache of a memory of how his own best friend had passed.
Donna a
who was his best friend? are where did this happen
georgianna kepler
This is my fifth cousin Roy ACUFF , we grew up in Knoxville Tennessee, mostly in the hills, he had a bar on Clinton highway when Pearl, my mother was about 18, she snuck out of her house out there on Bullrun Creek near Maynardville and went to the bar to see Roy, and Roy said “Pearlie you better get home before Tom wakes up our he will be after my hide”.
Tom was her dad and Annie was the mother, my grandparents who raised me on Bullrun Creek
Ryan Acuff
My name is Forest acuff.. my big bro is Clayton acuff.. we family 😁
mac26x98
We got to know Roy in 1953-4 when he owned the Cave and amusement park in Clarksville TN. We were stationed at Ft Campbell.
and he would come up there and play once in a while. We also spent a lot of Saturday nights in the old Ryman when he was MC.
Ryan Acuff
Nice.. hes my great great uncle
mac26x98
Ryan Acuff he was a great guy and one heck of an performer, we loved him. He hired a couple of paratroopers from Ft Campbell to parachute in to the lake at his Amusement Park/Cave he owned at the time in Clarksville TN on the 4th of July I think it was., it seems I recall them having a Flag when they came down.....I and some buddies “watched”, we did jump
Steve Bilbee
Cool. Had to play this tune with my dad and uncles. Usually later in the night! ~wink~