Jimmy Dean dies at 81

Many of you are too young to remember the country & western singer named Jimmy Dean whose career spanned decades and not all as an entertainer. He died this AM at his home - he was 81 years old.

In 1961 he released a song entitled Big Bad John, a #1 hit on the country charts, the brief but heroic story of a mysterious miner called Big John (Youtube has a recording of this). In 1962 he won a Grammy for this record.

In 1969, the singer turned to business and created the Jimmy Dean Sausage Company. If you like prok sausage then I highly recommend his for it is quite tasty and comes in a variety of flavors.

Then along comes some little known character by the name of James Bond and the next thing you know Dean has a supporting role in the 1971 Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. Dean plays a multi-millionaire who goes by the name of Willard White. Also starring is Jill St. John as the fiery redhead Tiffany Case (one of my favs).

At any rate, although not necessarily in the public eye for the last several years, I, for one, will miss this actor, singer business man whose career crossed five decades.