Patsy Cline Plane Crash in Camden Tennessee. Nashville Newspaper 4 OPRY STARS DIE IN CRASH Plane Debris Yields Bodies At Camden Camden - The remains of four country music personalities, including three nationally known Grand Ole Opry stars, were found this morning in the scattered bits of a private plane which crashed in rugges woodlands near here. The victims were Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Randy Hughes, believed to be the pilot of the ill-fated aircraft. The wreckage was discovered about 6 a.m. after a night-long search by Highway Patrol, Civil Defense and local officers. Parts of the yellow plane and bits of human flesh were scattered over a 60-yard area a mile off Highway 70 about three miles west of Camden. The wreckage was between the highway and a ranger tower, which had served as a base of operations for searchers. Civil Defense official Dean Brewer, asked whether all four bodies had been located, replied: "There's not enough to count . . . They're all in small pieces."The plane left Dyersburg about 6 p.m. Tuesday for a flight to Nashville.

The entertainers had been in Kansas City for a benefit performance for the late Cactus Jack Call, a disc jockey. Sam Webb, whose farm is near the dense woodlands said he saw a plane circling his home about 7 p.m. and that it was "revving up its motor. . . going fast and then slow, like it was attempting to climb." Webb said the plane left his sight and then he heard something "like it struck the top of some trees." The weather in the area at the time of the accident was termed "extremely turbulent." Investigators of the Civil Aeronautics Board were enroute to the crash scene to make a detailed probe of the wreckage in an effort to learn the cause of the smashup. Meanwhile in another phase of the investigation, Dr. J.S. Butterworth, CAB medical examiner, and Dr. A. T. Hix, Benton County Medical Examiner were examining the remains of the four victims. The wreckage was located by searchers using field glasses in the fire tower and almost simultaneously by ground searchers Lewis and Claude Bradford, brothers who farm near the scene, and W. J. Hollingsworth of Sandy River Road. The plane apparently struck a large tree before hitting the ground.

Pieces of the aircraft were hanging in the tree and a three-foot hole marked the spot where the main part of the fuselage struck the ground. The terrain in the area is so rugged that some searchers returning during the night were covered with bruises, scratches and blood and according to one observer, "looked like they had been in a bear fight." The wreck scene is about five miles west of the Tennessee River. After the wreckage was located, about a 100 cars lined Old Stage Road, about 150 yards from the scene. Benton County Sheriff Loye Furr described the area as "full of woods, hills, hollows and swamps. Refueling Stop The single-engine plane stopped at Dyersburg to refuel and the Dyersburg Airport manager, Bill Braese, said the occupants "had a cup of coffee." * Patsy Cline * Hawkshaw Hawkins * Cowboy Copas * Randy Hughes * TENNESSEE CONCERTS SEARCH ENGINE Website by Pat Adams. pat@tennesseeconcerts.com Editor: Pat Adams - Nashville TN Email: pat@tennesseeconcerts.com music artistry.

I counted them among my close friends and extend my deep and sincere sympathy to their families." of WSM's Grand Ole Opry. God On My Side "God was on my side," Billy Walker said today. "Else how can you explain my being here -- and Patsy, Copas and Hawk and Randy gone." Walker, a Columbia recording artist and member of the Grand Ole Opry, was one of the entertainers who appeared on the benefit show the past said the tall, hefty Texan. "I was not scheduled to ride in the plane. room for me in the four-seater. So I went out and back on a commercial flight. There was some kidding about my size and how I weighed too much to get in the small ship. Ironic isn't it that the final appearances of Patsy, Hawk, Copas and Randy would be for commented Walker who lives on Jasperson Drive in Madison (a suburb of Nashville). Walker's recent recent record hits have been "Charlie's Shoes," "Willie the Weeper" and "Funny How Time Slips Away". "Sorta he asked. Tday I'm fortunate just to be Billy Walker.

"This terrible tragedy - and my nearness to it - will haunt me a long, long time." Lynyrd Skynyrd Patsy Cline: Country music remembers its darkest day FacebookEmail Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest Patsy Cline: Country music remembers its darkest day Fifty years ago, on Sunday, March 3, 1963, Lloyd "Cowboy" Copas shouldn't have been crying. Things were, after all, going well. Copas, who burst onto the country scene with four consecutive top 10 hits Post to Facebook Patsy Cline: Country music remembers its darkest day Fifty years ago, on Sunday, March 3, 1963, Lloyd "Cowboy" Copas shouldn't have been crying. Things were, after all, going well. Copas, who burst onto the country scene with four consecutive top 10 hits Check out this story on USATODAY.com: CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

3 To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs Patsy Cline: Country music remembers its darkest day By Peter Cooper, The (Nashville) Tennessean Published 4:10 p.m. ET March 4, 2013 | Updated 4:27 p.m. ET March 4, 2013 CLOSE x Share Country Music Hall of Famer Jean Shepard, a grand lady of the Grand Ole Opry, was married to Hawkshaw Hawkins when Hawkins, Lloyd "Cowboy" Copas and Patsy Cline rode in a plane piloted by Randy Hughes that crashed in a wooded area near Camden, TN Cline, Lloyd 'Cowboy' Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Randy Hughes died March 5, 1963 in a plane crash in Camden, Tenn. A memorializes the area on Mount Carmel Road on Feb. 25, 2013 in Camden, Tenn. near the plane crash site that killed country singer Patsy Cline on March 5, 1963.

(Photo: Shelley Mays, The Tennessean) Story Highlights 'Grand Ole Opry' stars had just performed in Kansas City Taking Randy Hughes' plane was faster than driving Patsy Cline romanticized, other stars neglected through the years Fifty years ago, on Sunday, March 3, 1963, Lloyd "Cowboy" Copas shouldn't have been crying. Things were, after all, going well. Copas, who burst onto the country scene with four consecutive top 10 hits in the 1940s, wound up on the cover of Billboard magazine. After that, he endured an eight-year slide in popularity before storming back in 1960 with a 12-week No. 1 hit called Alabam, a song that restored his standing as a major country star. That Sunday, the 49-year-old Copas was in Kansas City, Kan. , with his friends, playing three shows to raise money for the family of a disc jockey named Jack Call, who had died in a car wreck.

For $1.50, people could see and hear Copas, Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, George Jones, Billy Walker, Georgie Riddle, Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper, George McCormick and others as they sang their hits. MORE: Visit the Tennessean's music page It wasn't self-pity or depression that brought the Cowboy to tears; it was a post-show meeting with a longtime fan, a woman with cancer who told him that she wasn't long for this earth. Copas introduced the woman to Riddle, and when she walked away, Riddle said, the singing star grew emotional. "He said to me, 'Poor thing, she only has six months to live,'" Riddle says. "It was ironic. Because Copas had much less time than that." Plenty to bury Fewer than 48 hours later, Copas and fellow Grand Ole Opry stars Cline and Hawkins were passengers on a doomed plane piloted by Randy Hughes, who was Cline's manager, a talented musician and stage performer and the husband of Copas' daughter, Kathy. Around 7 p.m.

March 5, 1963, Hughes' plane dove into the hard, cold winter woods near Camden, Tenn., 85 miles west of Nashville. The plane's impact was like an egg hurled to the ground. No survivors. No chance. That crash marked an unprecedented loss to the country music community. And just days after the plane went down, on the same day of a Cline memorial, Jack Anglin of popular duo Johnnie & Jack died in a single-car accident in Madison, Tenn. And later that month, former Opry star "Texas" Ruby Fox perished in a trailer fire. In the half-century following the plane crash, Cline has been the subject of a feature film, a stage play and several biographies, while the lives of Copas, Hawkins and Hughes have been less studied. The focus on Cline alone has been hurtful to some of those left in tragedy's wake. "When that plane went down, Copas was the biggest star onboard," Cline's widow, Charlie Dick, told Opry announcer, country music historian and WSM air personality Eddie Stubbs five years ago.

"Usually, today, Patsy seems to get top billing," says Dick in a Tennessean interview today. "But Patsy was a big fan of Copas and Hawk, and they were stars. Everybody on that plane was important to the music business. And all of them were top dogs." Copas was a veteran favorite and a deft guitarist. A soaring vocalist, Cline had already scored in the 1960s with hits I Fall To Pieces, Crazy and She's Got You, and in Hughes, 34, she had a sharp and tenacious manager. Hawkins was a rising, charismatic star on a roll, married to future Country Music Hall of Famer Jean Shepard, and he had just released what would become his first and only No. 1 country hit, Lonesome 7-7203. "I remember the morning Hawk left, he bent over the baby's crib," says Shepard, who was eight months pregnant when the plane went down and had a 1-year-old son. "He bent over the baby's crib and said, 'I want another one just like that.' " Harold Franklin Hawkins Jr.

was another one just like that, born April 8, 1963, less than a month after the crash. In the coming years, Shepard grew exasperated at the extent to which Cline's death was emphasized and the others were set into the background. “A lot of people think during this time that I've hated Patsy Cline. And that's not the story at all.” Jean Shepard "A lot of people think during this time that I've hated Patsy Cline," Shepard says. "And that's not the story at all. I resented the way it was presented, like she was the only person on that airplane. ... I lost a husband. I lost as much as Charlie Dick did. He lost a wife." Shepard and Dick are old and dear friends. They've spoken about all of this, and they are in agreement. "The person who lost the most was Kathy," Shepard says. "She lost her father and her husband.

I thought she had a lot more to bury than we did." 'A long day' Saturday night, March 2, 1963, Patsy Cline played three shows in Birmingham, Ala., with Tex Ritter, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich and Flatt & Scruggs. The next morning, she and Charlie Dick flew to East Nashville's Cornelia Fort Airpark in Randy Hughes' little plane. Country music travel in those days usually involved back roads and hassles, and the Comanche was a way to sail far above those things. "He didn't know how to fly when he bought it," says Kathy Hughes. "But Randy had high aspirations. As a manager, if he had a stable of stars he'd use that plane even more." Copas and Hawkins played the Opry that Saturday night. Sunday morning, while Cline, Dick and Hughes were in the air, Kathy Hughes prepared fried chicken, and Hawkins and Copas played with Copas' 11-year-old son, Mike, at Copas' home. Kathy, her father and Hawkins then took the short ride to Cornelia and met Hughes' plane.

Charlie Dick was heading home — or, as he threatened, down to Tootsie's in Nashville to spend the previous night's earnings on beer. The Kansas City flight proceeded without incident, other than Cline's complaints about how cold it was on the plane, and the performers arrived in time for the first of the day's three shows at 2 p.m. Promoter Hap Peebles, disc jockey Guy Smith and country music artist Billy Walker organized the performances, which were designed to raise money to aid the family of the late disc jockey Call. Fifty years later, it's difficult to imagine scores of top-drawer country artists giving up many hours of personal time to help a radio personality's family. These days, Kansas City is an eight-hour drive from Nashville. In 1963, taking back roads that were then the main roads, it was a significantly longer trip. Hughes' plane made the excursion possible for Cline, Copas and Hawkins. Cline and Hawkins, in particular, were reluctant to make the trip and eager to return.

Cline, 30, was exhausted: She spent much of the past year doing four shows per day at The Mint in Las Vegas, and she wanted to be around her children, 4-year-old Julie and 2-year-old Randy. Hawkins, 41, had a baby at home, and his wife, Opry member Shepard, was soon to give birth to their second son. Hawkins was a horseman, and he had a mare ready to foal as well. Opry star Billy Walker, who had gathered most of the Kansas City talent, was slated to fly back to Nashville on Hughes' plane, with Hawkins scheduled to be on a 6 a.m. commercial flight. But Walker received an urgent message Sunday night: His wife's father had suffered a heart attack in Texas, and he needed to rush back home. Knowing the commercial flight would be faster than the private plane, Hawkins gave Walker his airline ticket and agreed to fly with Hughes, Cline and Copas. After the third Kansas City show, Riddle and Cline spent half an hour talking at a reception thrown at the Town House motor hotel. The conversation was pleasant, not profound.

"We were talking about how it had been a long day," Riddle says. (Photo: Courtesy photo) "Get Home-itis" Monday morning, it was clear that another long day was in store. Storms halted all private flights out of Kansas City's Fairfax Airport. Billy Walker was back in Nashville by 9 a.m., to care for his children while his wife went to Texas, and Hughes, Hawkins, Cline and Copas had to burn a day in Kansas City. "They got weathered in," says Country Music Hall of Famer Bill Anderson. "I've been out with entertainers so many times when everyone gets awfully impatient. You get a case of what I call 'Get Home-itis.' It's 'Let's go home.' " Tuesday morning, the weather wasn't much better and their impatience was heightened. The plane Hughes had purchased for convenience was proving less convenient than a car, and certainly less so than the tour bus that Cline and Dick dreamed of buying. Hughes decided to get back by hopping from small airport to small airport, waiting for storms to clear the area before taking off for the next short haul.

They made it as far as Dyersburg, Tenn., northeast of Memphis and just east of Arkansas, and landed around 4:30 p.m. In Dyersburg, roughly 170 miles from Nashville, they were met by Evelyn and Bill Braese, the couple who ran the airport. Impressed to be meeting the country stars, the Braeses also were dubious about Hughes' notion of flying to Nashville. Major storms roared to the east. The Braeses advised Hughes not to fly, and they arranged for motel rooms for the Nashville group. "I talked to Randy in Dyersburg," says Kathy Hughes. "He asked me how the weather was in Nashville. I said it had been horrible all day, but I looked out the window and said, 'It has stopped raining, and it looks like I can see the sun trying to set.' He said, 'Do me a favor and call Cornelia Fort and tell them to turn the lights on. We're going to make it in probably an hour.' " 'Something to look forward to' Kathy Copas Hughes called Shepard and Dick to tell them when the troupe would finally be arriving. And Shepard gave her baby son a bath in the kitchen sink.

"It was beginning to get dusky dark," Shepard says. "And the most horrible feeling come over me that had ever come over me in my life. I just stood there a couple of minutes and kind of froze. I thought I was going into labor. ... That's about the time the plane crash happened." The aftermath was chaotic and horrific. Pieces of the plane were strewn about the Camden forest: a wing in an oak tree, the engine divoted six feet into the ground. There was a kindness to the impact's violence: No one on board felt a thing. They did not suffer. They were among friends. WSM radio informed listeners, including family members, that a plane carrying Opry regulars Cline, Copas, Hawkins and Hughes was missing. The plane was discovered around daybreak. Singer-songwriter Roger Miller had been with Dick late into the night, and he drove to try to find the site while Dick stayed at home with his children. Miller got there in the morning and screamed at the scavengers who were already sifting through the woods, collecting ghastly souvenirs in the hours before authorities secured the scene, around 1 p.m. March 6.

(Photo: Gerald Holly, The Tennessean) Cline's remains went first to her home for a wake, and she is buried in her hometown of Winchester, Va. Hughes', Copas' and Hawkins' bodies are buried at Forest Lawn cemetery in Nashville. By Wednesday evening, the victims' loved ones welcomed mourners. "When I was in mourning about their deaths, the first thought in my mind was, 'Kiddo, you're not with your people anymore,' " says Kathy Copas Hughes. "My husband and my father ... it was a shocking thing. It numbs you for a while. But country music people, we kind of cling to each other. We all take sorrow according to our background and what we believe. If you don't have anything to hang onto, it has to be the most horrible thing in the world. I believe I had divine help." Help came from many places. Hughes and Ferlin Husky had started a publishing company, and Husky insisted that Kathy Copas Hughes, who had no publishing experience, retain half the company. That insistence meant she kept half the proceeds from country and gospel smash On the Wings of a Dove, and she used that money to put herself and her two sons through college.

Marty Robbins wrote a song about Shepard's situation called Two Little Boys, and he gave writer's credit to Don Robin Hawkins and Harold Hawkins, Hawkshaw and Shepard's sons, the second of whom was born April 8, 1963. At Cline's memorial service on Thursday, March 7, Bill Anderson sat in a pew at Phillips Robinson, just in front of Kitty Wells and Johnnie Wright. Wells was the "Queen of Country Music," despondent over the death of a potential successor. Wright, her husband, was half of groundbreaking duo Johnnie & Jack, along with his step-brother Jack Anglin. "Getting up to leave, I spoke to Johnnie for a quick minute," Anderson says. "A few minutes later, I saw Johnnie was walking on the little porch outside the funeral home, just bawling like a baby. Someone said they'd just told him that Jack was in an automobile wreck and they think he's dead." Word spread immediately. Now, five were gone. "If they'd lived, Copas would be 99, Jack Anglin 96, Hawkshaw 91, Randy 84 and Patsy 80," says Stubbs.

"We can only imagine what they'd be like if they were with us. As it was, they left us in the prime of their lives. Career-wise, they were all in a good place. The records were happening and show dates were on the books. They'd each had success and faced their share of tough times. But the present was good, and the future was something to look forward to." That future went dark, in deep, cruel woods and at a sharp and deadly bend in a road. Their music remains, unscratched and unsullied, at once timeless and young. Radio show pays tribute From 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. March 6, WSM-AM 650 will present its annual tribute to Jack Anglin, Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Randy Hughes. Confirmed guests include Kathy Copas Hughes, Charlie Dick and Jack Anglin's nephew, Bobby Wright. In addition to the radio broadcast, the show will be streamed at . 449 CONNECT TWEET 1 LINKEDIN 3 COMMENTEMAILMORE Read or Share this story: NEVER MISS OUT Life Be a pop culture maven.

Get the news, reviews and the juiciest celebrity stories that keep you in the know, Monday-Friday. 50th Anniversary of Crash that Killed Patsy Cline; Hawkshaw Hawkins; Cowboy Copas; Randy Hughes Commemoration starts February 28th - Clarksville, TN Online 50th Anniversary of Crash that Killed Patsy Cline; Hawkshaw Hawkins; Cowboy Copas; Randy Hughes Commemoration starts February 28th Gone But Not Forgotten Event to be Held in Camden, Tennessee Nashville, TN – Some of Country’s biggest stars are coming out to honor three music icons who helped shape their careers and who brought country music to mainstream America. Bill Anderson, Jean Shepard, Mandy Barnett, The Grascals and The American Three are among the celebrities set to perform at Gone But Not Forgotten. In March of 1963, the world lost Grand Ole Opry greats Cowboy Copas, Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins, along with their pilot, Randy Hughes. Patsy Cline.

(Photo credit Grand Ole Opry Archives) “Patsy, Cowboy, and Hawkshaw were at the height of their careers when they died,” says Mandy Barnett, who in addition to recording her own hits like, “Now That’s Alright with Me,” played Patsy Cline in the highly-acclaimed musical, “Always, Patsy Cline.” (Now playing at the Roxy Regional Theatre in Clarksville, TN) “The 50th anniversary of that plane crash is the last significant milestone their families, friends and fans will have to honor them. We want to make this a very special occasion for them.” Hawkshaw Hawkins. (Photo credit Grand Ole Opry Archives) “That plane crash – 50 years ago – had a huge impact on the people of Camden,” says Bill Kee, who heads up Benton County’s Chamber of Commerce and is helping organize the event. “Nashville is only 95 miles from downtown Camden. People here feel like they lost their neighbors in the crash and we understand the significance of these artists to the history of American music.” Gone But Not Forgotten is a three-day event that kicks off Thursday, February 28th, in Camden, Tennessee and runs through Saturday, March 2nd.

In addition to star-studded performances each night, it will also feature a museum-quality exhibit of historical artifacts, a celebrity panel that will reminisce about the lives and careers of Cline, Hawkins, and Copas, and a candlelight vigil to honor the memory of the four souls lost that tragic day in 1963. Randy Hughes. (Photo credit Grand Ole Opry Archives) The event will also honor Randy Hughes, the fourth person killed in the crash. Hughes was the pilot and Cline’s manager. He was married to Kathy Copas, the daughter of Cowboy Copas. Opry star, Jean Shepard, is the widow of Hawkshaw Hawkins. She is expected to appear, along with her two sons. The crash happened early on the morning of March 5th, 1963. Cline, Hawkins, Copas and Hughes were flying home from Kansas City, where they had performed at a benefit concert. An investigation later determined that severe weather contributed to the crash. All three artists were members of the Grand Ole Opry.

Hawkshaw Hawkins is perhaps best known for the now county classic, “Lonesome 7-7203.” He was married to fellow Opry member Jean Shepard at the time of his death. The couple had one son and Jean gave birth to their second son, Harold “Hawkshaw” Hawkins Jr., one month after the crash. Shepard will be part of the celebrity panel, discussing the lives and careers of her late husband, and the others who died with him. Cowboy Copas. (Photo credit Grand Ole Opry Archives) Cowboy Copas is revered for hits like “Alabam,” “Tis Sweet to Be Remembered,” and “I’m Waltzing with Tears in My Eyes.” Patsy Cline’s more cosmopolitan sound brought her hits like “Crazy,” “Walking After Midnight,” and “I Fall to Pieces.” She is also a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. In addition to managing Cline, Randy Hughes was a highly sought after recording session guitarist.

A Facebook page has been set up for fans at For a complete list of Gone But Not Forgotten performers and events, or to purchase tickets, visit Gone But Not Forgotten Festival Honors Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins on 50th Anniversary of Plane Crash | Billboard Gone But Not Forgotten Festival Honors Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins on 50th Anniversary of Plane Crash | February 28, 2013 1:28 PM EST Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas 52 55 0 For country music fans, March 5, 1963 represents the day that the music died. Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas, Patsy Cline, and pilot-manager Randy Hughes were returning from a benefit concert in Kansas City and were roughly a hundred miles from Nashville, when they entered a late winters' storm. The plane never made it to Corneila Fort Airport, instead crashing just north of Camden, TN killing all aboard.

A half-century later, the town will remember those artists with the "Gone But Not Forgotten" memorial festival, which begins today and runs through March 2. The event will feature performances from the Grascals, Bill Anderson, Jean Shepard (Hawkins' widow), Hawkshaw Hawkins, Jr., and Mandy Barnett (who perfected the role of Cline in the "Always, Patsy Cline" musical. Though Cline is the most prominent artist associated with the tragedy, event organizer Terry Hudson tells Billboard the event is a tribute to all. "We wanted to be specific about just honoring one name from the crash," he says. "Patsy Cline has the most name recognition, but Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins were huge stars of the Grand Ole Opry from the 1940s on, and Randy Hughes was Cowboy's son-in-law, and Patsy's manager.

We want to make sure that we give equal tribute to each of those artists." Hawkins enjoyed a half-dozen top ten singles on the charts, with the biggest being Justin Tubb's "Lonesome 7-7203," which entered the Billboard singles chart on March 2, 1963 -- three days before the crash. "He was a big crowd pleaser, and everyone loved him," notes Hudson. "You wonder what would have happened had he lived. You can't help but ask the question ‘What if?" Country Music Hall of Fame member Jean Shepard, his widow, will be at the festival along with their son, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Jr. Hudson says that Shepard wanted to make sure that her husband's memory would be remembered as much as the others who perished in the crash. "Jean was very adamant about the fact she wanted everyone to remember her husband and the success he had" he says. Cowboy Copas charted fifteen hit records on the singles chart, with the biggest being 1960's "Alabam," which was his lone number one hit. Hudson said that his daughter, Kathy, was planning to make an appearance at the event.

She performed with her father during his live shows and on the Opry. Her husband, Randy Hughes, was at the controls of the plane. He also served as manager to Cline and other artists, such as Billy Walker. Barnett, who will close the festival on Saturday, is excited to be performing. "I'm glad to be a part of it to represent her. It's been fifty years, but yet the music lives on." Strangely enough, Barnett has never visited Camden or the crash site. "I never have. I never really wanted to go. But, this particular event gives me a good reason to remember all of their lives." The singer, who is working on a new project, still marvels at Cline's influence. "It's amazing that her career was only less than a decade. She started having hits in 1957, but then disappeared for a while, and only really started having consistent hits in 1961. She's still the ultimate female country singer. Everyone still wants to sound like Patsy Cline.

She left us wanting more." There will be memorabilia from all of the artists on display at the festival, as well as tours to the crash site (where a monument was erected in 1996). A panel discussion concerning the impact of the artists involved will be held on Friday night, with Robert K. Oermann, USA Today's Brian Mansfield, and this reporter -- as well as Hall of Famers Anderson and Shepard. Hawkshaw Hawkins | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by Cub Koda Hawkshaw Hawkins is a country singer, guitarist, songwriter, and entertainer. A large man (6'6") with a deep singing voice, Hawkins was an immensely popular performer in country music for many years without the benefit of big record success. He started on radio, becoming a regular on WWVA's Wheeling Jamboree by 1946 and making his first records for the King label around that time. By 1953 he signed with RCA Victor and became a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry by 1955.

Described as "the man with 11-and-a-half yards of personality," Hawkins was a warm and engaging performer both on stage and on records, able to pull off a wide variety of material from maudlin weepers to up-tempo novelties. His label-jumping from Columbia by the late '50s and back to King by the early '60s moved his material closer to commercial mainstream country, but his time in the spotlight ran out when he perished in the same plane crash as Cowboy Copas and Patsy Cline . Hawkins (born Harold Franklin Hawkins, December 22, 1921; died March 5, 1963) was born and raised in Huntington, WV. His first foray into performing came at the age of 15, when he won a talent contest at a local radio station, WSAZ. Following his win, he began working at the station, eventually moving to WCHS in Charleston by the end of the '30s; at WCHS, he frequently sang with Clarence "Sherlock" Jack. During 1941, he traveled the United States with a revue.

The following year, he joined the military, where he was stationed in the Phillippines; in Manila, he sang on the local army radio. Following his discharge from the Army, Hawkins signed with King Records, releasing the minor hit -- and the song that would eventually become his signature tune -- "The Sunny Side of the Mountain." In addition to recording for King, he was a regular on WWVA's Wheeling Jamboree between 1946 and 1954. In 1948, he had his first hit single with "Pan American," which climbed into the country Top Ten. Over the next three years, he had four other Top Ten singles -- "Dog House Boogie" (1948), "I Love You a Thousand Ways" (1951), "I'm Waiting Just for You" (1951), and "Slow Poke" (1951). In 1953, he left King and signed with RCA, but he had no hits for the label. In 1955, Hawkins became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Hawkins joined Columbia's roster in 1959, releasing the number 15 single "Soldier's Joy" later that year. The following year, he married fellow country singer Jean Shepard , and they made their home on a farm outside of Nashville, where he bred horses. Hawkins re-signed to King in 1963, releasing "Lonesome 7-7203" as a comeback single early that spring. Though it became a number one hit, Hawkins didn't live to see it reach the top of the charts -- he tragically died in the same airplane crash that killed Cline and Copas on March 5, 1963. Shepard was pregnant with their child at the time of the crash; the child was a son, and he was named after his father. Hawkins ' recorded legacy was treated haphazardly in the three decades after his death, but in 1991, Bear Family released a comprehensive, multi-disc overview of his RCA and Columbia Records called Hawk .

Hawkshaw Hawkins Discography at Discogs Harold Franklin Hawkins Profile: Born December 22, 1921 Died March 5, 1963 He was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 60s known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honky tonk. At 6 ft 5 inches tall, he had an imposing stage presence, and his tasteful Western suits set him apart from the rhinestone gaudiness of other male country singers. Hawkins died in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was married to country star Jean Shepard. Sites: Cowboy Copas | Download Music, Tour Dates & Video | eMusic Biography All Music Guide All Music Guide: A honky tonk singer popular in the late '40s, Cowboy Copas made something of a comeback in the early '60s before he died in the air crash that also killed Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins.

Born Lloyd Estel Copas on July 15, 1913, he dropped out of school at the age of 14 and began playing fiddle in several string bands around his Ohio home. On a dare, Copas traveled to Cincinnati to enter a contest, and wound up performing on radio shows for Cincinnati's WLW and later WKRC. By 1940, Copas moved to WNOX-Knoxville with a band called the Gold Star Rangers. Three years later, Cowboy Copas got his big break: He was tapped to replace Eddy Arnold as the vocalist for Pee Wee King's Golden West Cowboys on WSM-Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry. He signed with King Records in 1946, and his debut single, "Filipino Baby," hit number four on the country charts that August. Two years later, Copas was back in the Top Ten with "Signed, Sealed and Delivered" (number two), "Tennessee Waltz" (number three), and "Tennessee Moon" (number seven).

He also continued to perform with Pee Wee King on the Opry, recording a hit version of "Tennessee Waltz." After the Top 20 singles "Breeze" and "I'm Waltzing With Tears in My Eyes," Copas hit the Top Ten again in early 1949. "Candy Kisses" peaked at number five, "Hangman's Boogie" reached number 14, and "The Strange Little Girl" hit number five. His next single, 1952's "'Tis Sweet to Be Remembered," hit number eight, but it was his last chart entry for more than eight years. His King contract expired in 1955, and a brief time with the Dot label also failed. During the late '50s, Copas bided his time on the Opry, and he finally signed to Starday in 1960. His first single for the label, "Alabam," became the biggest of his career when it captured country's pole position for three months during the last half of 1960.

"Flat Top" hit the Top Ten in April 1961, and a remake of his early hit "Signed, Sealed and Delivered" also reached the Top Ten in September. A year and a half later, Copas was returning to Nashville from a benefit show in Kansas City when his private plane went down, killing him, Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Copas' son-in-law, pilot Randy Hughes. Cowboy Copas' last single, "Goodbye Kisses," hit the Top 15 one month after his death. Related Artists Cowboy Copas | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by John Bush A honky tonk singer popular in the late '40s, Cowboy Copas made something of a comeback in the early '60s before he died in the air crash that also killed Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins . Born Lloyd Estel Copas on July 15, 1913, he dropped out of school at the age of 14 and began playing fiddle in several string bands around his Ohio home.

On a dare, Copas traveled to Cincinnati to enter a contest, and wound up performing on radio shows for Cincinnati's WLW and later WKRC. By 1940, Copas moved to WNOX-Knoxville with a band called the Gold Star Rangers. Three years later, Cowboy Copas got his big break: He was tapped to replace Eddy Arnold as the vocalist for Pee Wee King's Golden West Cowboys on WSM-Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry. He signed with King Records in 1946, and his debut single, "Filipino Baby," hit number four on the country charts that August. Two years later, Copas was back in the Top Ten with "Signed, Sealed and Delivered" (number two), "Tennessee Waltz" (number three), and "Tennessee Moon" (number seven). He also continued to perform with Pee Wee King on the Opry, recording a hit version of "Tennessee Waltz." After the Top 20 singles "Breeze" and "I'm Waltzing With Tears in My Eyes," Copas hit the Top Ten again in early 1949.

"Candy Kisses" peaked at number five, "Hangman's Boogie" reached number 14, and "The Strange Little Girl" hit number five. His next single, 1952's "'Tis Sweet to Be Remembered," hit number eight, but it was his last chart entry for more than eight years. His King contract expired in 1955, and a brief time with the Dot label also failed. During the late '50s, Copas bided his time on the Opry, and he finally signed to Starday in 1960. His first single for the label, "Alabam," became the biggest of his career when it captured country's pole position for three months during the last half of 1960. "Flat Top" hit the Top Ten in April 1961, and a remake of his early hit "Signed, Sealed and Delivered" also reached the Top Ten in September. A year and a half later, Copas was returning to Nashville from a benefit show in Kansas City when his private plane went down, killing him, Patsy Cline , Hawkshaw Hawkins , and Copas ' son-in-law, pilot Randy Hughes .

Cowboy Copas ' last single, "Goodbye Kisses," hit the Top 15 one month after his death. Cowboy Copas - 24 Greatest Hits - Amazon.com Music 24 Greatest Hits Audio, Cassette, March 11, 1994 "Please retry" Garth Brooks Streaming Exclusively on Amazon Music With Amazon Music Unlimited you can listen to every album by Garth Brooks. Learn more See all buying options Available from these sellers . Special Offers and Product Promotions Audio Cassette (March 11, 1994) Label: Deluxe 4.0 out of 5 stars Were you LOOKING for Cowboy Copas? By Eclectic Revisited on November 9, 2004 This is a very good compilation of songs done by Lloyd "Cowboy" Copas who died in the 1963 plane crash that also took his contemporary Hawkshaw Hawkins (both were on the decline) and country legend Patsy Cline. Country music then did not have the following it does now or even during the early George Strait years. Cowboy Copas was however a decent and consistent deliverer of country music as it stood in the 50s.

Those who can recall him however may remember that he mainly sung the songs of those who wrote and recorded arguably better versions of those songs.

"Filipino Baby" was by Hank Locklin who wrote too many recognizable songs to name, "Tennessee Waltz" (Patti Page's signature song) was by Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King in 1948(Stewart worked in King's band--40 others recorded it), "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven" was by minor cowboy star Eddie Dean in 1955 (and later was the most important song since "High Noon" that Tex Ritter did), "Wreck on the Highway" was a big Roy Acuff hit (one of the dreary laments of Dorsey Dixon, an obscure singer from the 20s and 30s "discovered" in the early 60s); "Wings of a Dove" is strongly associated with singer Ferlin Husky, and "(A) Satisfied Mind", apparently inspired by a Bible saying which condemns rich men (for being rich) was done to death notably by Porter Waggoner, plus Jean Shepard, Johnny Cash, Slim Whitman, and Del Reeves, to name a few (plus Blind Boys of Alabama).

"Goodbye Kisses" from 1962 I associate only with Cowboy Copas but the other songs are done well too. It's just, well, they're mostly cover tunes. HAROLD FRANKLIN "HAWKSHAW" HAWKINS ELEVEN AND A HALF YARDS OF PERSONALITY BORN: December 22, 1921 DIED: March 5, 1963 Mention the name Hawkshaw Hawkins to a country music fan, and he or she will probably immediately recognize the name as one of the men killed in the plane crash that took the life of Patsy Cline in March, 1963 (along with Cowboy Copas and Randy Hughes, Patsy's manager and the pilot of the ill fated plane). Patsy has become more famous in death than she was during her brief career, but Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins, who were well-known stars of the Grand Ole Opry have been all but forgotten, which is sad, because their legacy deserves more than that. These tribute pages are my own small attempt to correct that.

Hawkshaw was a warm, engaging performer, blessed with a technically perfect singing voice, who starred on three major radio barn dances. His records sold well and his fan club was one of the largest and most active in existence. His music drew on the blues, boogie, tradional country, and above all else, honky-tonk. His rich smooth voice was considered one of the best in country music at the time. The nickname "Hawkshaw" was one acquired in boyhood, which he later used as his stage name. He was a top headliner at the WWVA Jamboree in Wheeling, West Virginia, having joined the cast there in 1946, the same year he got his first record deal with King Records. An avid horseriding fan, he used horses in his western shows, in which he did rope tricks, and stand-up comedy as well as singing. His musical talents allowed him to pull off a wide variety of material, from maudlin weepers to uptempo novelties and ballads.

He was with the WWVA Jamboree from 1946 to 1954, and joined the WSM Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in 1955. SOME FACTS AND DATES Reportedly at age 13 he traded five rabbits for a homemade guitar and taught himself to play it First heard on radio at WCMI in Ashland, Kentucky at about age 16 (1938?) Won a talent contest in the late 1930's on WSAZ in Huntington and a $15 per week job at the station Teamed up with Clarence Jack to form the "Hawkshaw and Sherlock" duo which played regularly over WSAZ Travelled to Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1941 with a wild west show. Hawkshaw and Sherlock provided the country music At age 19 married Reva Barbour, a 16 year old beauty from Huntington. Both being so young, the marriage was stormy and ended in divorce in 1958 Entered the army in 1943 and served as an engineer, stationed near Paris, Texas where he and friends would sneak out on Friday and Saturday nights to perform at local clubs.

As a Staff Sargeant, he was stationed in France and participated in the Battle of the Bulge, winning four battle stars during his fifteen months of combat duty Spent time in Manilla in the Philipines, and had a show on WVTM there A LITTLE ABOUT THE MUSIC Hawkshaw's first record deal was with King Records, which he signed in 1946. His first recordings for King were After All We Have Meant to Each Other and The Way I Love You, released on July 26, 1946. At the time, King Records artists frequently covered songs originally recorded on other labels. During this period, Hawkins recorded many songs previously recorded by others, including Pan American (Hank Williams), I Love You a Thousand Ways (Lefty Frizzell) and Slow Poke (Pee Wee King). He had a minor hit with the song "The Sunny Side of the Mountain," which would later become his signature song. His first hit single was "Pan American," which climbed into the country top ten.

Over the next three years hed had four other Top Ten Singles, "Dog House Boogie," (1948), "I Love You a Thousand Ways," (1951), "I'm Waiting Just for You," (1951), and "Slow Poke," (1951). In May, 1953 Hawkshaw switched from King Records to RCA Victor, which, because of RCA's wider distribution led him even more into the national spotlight (On King, his biggest following was in the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada). Hawkshaw joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in 1955, where he became good friends with Marty Robbins and Don Gibson, and renewed his friendship with his Wheeling neighbors Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper, when they joined the Opry in 1957. Wilma Cooper is still in the Opry cast today, and her daughter Carol Lee Cooper is on the Opry with the Carol Lee Singers, who do backup vocals for many of the acts.

Similar to Patsy Cline's early recording career, Hawkins's RCA sessions ranged from slow country ballads and weepers to bouncy numbers, with the songs deriving from the country and honky tonk traditions, as well as several country covers of pop and r&b songs. RCA sought to use Hawkshaw's exceptionally smooth voice on whatever seemed popular or was likely to sell at the moment. There was not a Hawkshaw sound by which the audience would immediately recognize that the singer was Hawkins, since his material was so diverse. Patsy's early output suffered the same consequence, due to her exceptionally diverse talent -- she was doing hillbilly weepers, honky-tonk, country ballads, pop, and even bluesey and jazz type numbers. Patsy's "sound" wasn't really found till the early 1960's with I Fall to Pieces, Crazy , She's Got You, Leavin on Your Mind, Sweet Dreams , etc., etc., etc..... In 1959, Hawkins moved over to Columbia Records (Marty Robbins was on this label).

Johnny Horton's The Battle of New Orleans was a big hit that year, and spawned similar songs, including Hawk's first Columbia release, Soldier's Joy, which, while not as popular as Horton's song, did reach number fifteen on the country charts and number eighty seven on the pop charts. In September, 1962, Hawkshaw returned to his first recording label, King Records. In a three day period he recorded what would be his last twelve songs, including his big hit, Lonesome 7-7203 . Justin Tubb (son of Ernest Tubb), the writer of this song (he also wrote Patsy's Imagine That) originally pitched the song to Hawk's second wife, Jean Shepard, who recorded it for her label, Capital Records. Capital however has never released it to this day. Hawshaw really liked the song, and had a feeling it would be a bit hit for him. He inscribed a copy to Ralph Emery with "Play the hell out of this, hoss." It first appeared in the Billboard country chart in the March 2, 1963 issue (three days before his death).

Lonesome 7-7203 was absent from the charts for the two weeks following his death, but re-appeared on March 23rd and went on to spend 25 weeks on the chart, four of them at the number one spot, something that eluded him during his lifetime. It remains my own very favorite Hawkshaw Hawkins song to this day. Hawk's recorded legacy was treated haphazardly in the three decades after his death, but in 1991, Bear Family Records released a comprehensive, multi-disc overview of his RCA and Columbia records, called "Hawk." CLICK HERE TO ORDER HAWKSHAW HAWKINS MUSIC FROM CDNOW.COM!

Question: Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins died with which other country music star in a 1963 plane crash?
Answer: Patsy Cline