Listen to Go On Bruce

Oklahoma-born, Louisiana-raised country singer/songwriter Merle Kilgore is the single degree of separation between Hank Williams, Hank Jr., and Johnny Cash. As a boy, he tagged along with Hank Sr. during the former's Louisiana Hayride performances, and some 40 years later he wound up managing Hank Jr.'s career. With June Carter, he wrote the legendary “Ring of Fire,” which would forevermore be irrevocably identified with Johnny Cash as one of the Man in Black's signature songs. Kilgore's own recordings never got much traction, but he also penned tunes for Johnny Horton, Tommy Roe, and many others, eventually entering the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Kilgore passed away in 2005.