Dream Villager presents: For Country singer Dean, 3 careers weren’t enough

Obituaries

For Country singer Dean, 3 careers weren’t enough

Jul 29, 2010 - All

Jimmy Dean, who died at 81, was so determined not to die broke that he succeeded at several separate careers throughout his life.

In mid-June Jimmy Dean died at 81 in his home in Varina, Va. Dean, who was born in Texas with the name Seth Ward, grew up poor.

Musically he was best know for his No. 1 hit “Big Bad John,” a story-telling song about a miner who rescues his coworkers.

The song won a Grammy and Dean headlined concerts at Carnegie Hall and became the first Country star to play the Las Vegas strip, according to the Associated Press. He was also the first guest host of “The Tonight Show.”

He also hosted the “Jimmy Dean Show” in the early ’60s and appeared in the James Bond Film “Diamonds are Forever.”

His debut single, “Bummin’ Around” reached No. 5 on Billboard’s country chart in 1953. Dean also hosted “Town and Country Time,” a three-hour TV show that aired in Washington on Sundays earlier in his career. Unlike many musicians who experience early success, Dean was determined not to die in poverty as an old man.

Declaring that no one would ever play a benefit for him, when he grew concerned that his music career was winding down, he went back to his roots – pigs. Dean grew up grinding pork on his family’s farm and opened Jimmy Dean Meat Co. in 1969. He sold the company to Sara Lee Corp. in 1984 and was estimated to be worth $75 million in the 1990s.