Country Music Hall Of Famer Mac Wiseman Dies At 93

Mark Humphrey/AP Photo – Mac Wiseman
Mac Wiseman speaks after he was introduced as one of three new inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville in April 2014.

A funeral home says bluegrass and country vocalist Mac Wiseman, known for his high tenor and songs like “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” and “Jimmy Brown the Newsboy,” has died at the age of 93.

Spring Hill Funeral Home in Nashville confirmed his death on Sunday. Services have not yet been announced.

Born in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, Wiseman worked as a sideman for bluegrass pioneers like Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe. He recorded for Dot Records in the 1950s, eventually working as a label producer. He was a founding member and the first secretary for the Country Music Association.

“Mac Wiseman was not only a key figure in the history of Country Music, but also in the history of our organization,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “I enjoyed my personal relationship with Mac, and both he and Jo Walker Meador shared rich stories of the early days of CMA. Mac made a broad impact on both the music and business sides of our industry. He deeply understood how Country Music worked thanks to his eclectic history, and he was an early adopter of the idea that our format is strengthened when we all step into the circle together.”

He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014.