Grand Ole Opry Member Billy Walker Dies

May 22, 2006--Condolences to the family and friends of Grand Ole Opry member Billy Walker, 77, who along with his wife Bettie, 61, and band members Charles Lilly Jr., 44, and Daniel Patton Sr., 40, was killed early Sunday morning in a one-vehicle accident. The Tennessean reports that the Walkers' grandson Joshua Brooks, 21, of Hendersonville, was also critically injured in the crash that took place on Interstate 65 south of Montgomery, Ala. Billy and his band were driving back toward middle Tennessee, having performed Saturday night at the Palm Lake Opry & RV Park in Foley, Ala., when their van ran off the interstate and overturned, according to Alabama state troopers.

Known as "The Tall Texan," Billy's country hits included "Funny How Time Slips Away" and "Charlie's Shoes." He joined the Opry in 1960 and has long been known as one of the show's most outgoing and personable performers, both onstage and backstage.

"He couldn't have been more supportive," says Brad Paisley, whose first appearance on the Opry, in May 1999, was introduced by Billy. "I remember that he came to my first gold-record party, and I'll always remember his charismatic presence when he was on stage. He never seemed old to me, which is another thing that is so hard about this."

Mrs. Walker was both a constant companion to her husband and a driving business force for him. From their home in Hendersonville, she booked his shows, booked shows for other Opry artists and spearheaded the "Golden Voice Awards," an event that honors country artists with long-lasting popularity and importance.

"I've never known someone as good at organizing things as Bettie," says Opry member Jeannie Seely, a friend of the Walkers. "She worked tirelessly, and she was never afraid to step up and ask for something or stand up for something she believed in."

Brad notes that he never saw one Walker without the other. "I'm glad that we're talking about them in the same breath, in the same way," he says. "This would be so impossible for either one of them to deal with if the other had survived."