Merle Kilgore
| Merle Kilgore | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Wyatt Merle Kilgore |
| Also known as | Merle Kilgore |
| Born | August 9, 1934 Chickasha, Oklahoma, United States |
| Died | February 6, 2005 (aged 70) Mexico |
| Genres | Country music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Acoustic guitar |
| Years active | 1948–2005 |
| Associated acts | Hank Williams, Jr., Johnny Cash |
| Website | Merlekilgore.com |
Wyatt Merle Kilgore (August 9, 1934 – February 6, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and manager. He was an artist and writer; the personal manager of Hank Williams at the time of his death.
Although born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, United States, Kilgore was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was the son of Wyatt and Gladys B. (Clowers) Kilgore. As a boy of 14 he carried the guitar for Hank Williams at the Louisiana Hayride beginning a close relationship with the Williams family that would last three generations. He attended school at C. E. Byrd High School and then Louisiana Tech University.
Kilgore went on to a career as a country music recording artist but had great success as a songwriter, co-writing with June Carter the song "Ring of Fire", first recorded by her sister Anita Carter and later by June's future husband, Johnny Cash (Kilgore was a distant cousin of the Carter sisters through their maternal grandmother, Margaret Kilgore Addington); June, later known as June Carter Cash, would record her own version of the song for her album Press On, released in 1999. He also wrote Claude King's big crossover hit, "Wolverton Mountain". Amongst others, he also penned "Johnny Reb" for Johnny Horton and the Tommy Roe pop music hit, "The Folk Singer". In the early 1960s, he toured with Cash as part of his package show. He stood as Johnny Cash's best man at his wedding to June Carter.
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