Remembering Wayland Holyfield: Nashville music legend dies aged 82

Known for his songs “Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer” and his unique rise to music fame, Nashville musician Wayland Holyfield died in his home state at the age of 82 on May 6 2024. 

The death was confirmed by longtime friend John Carland but a cause of death was not announced. Born Wayland Delano Holyfield on March 15 1942 in Malletown, Arkansas and spending his young years growing up in Little Rock, the musician taught himself how to play piano through his sister’s sheet music and took violin lessons shortly afterwards. However music as a full-time career early on in Holyfield's life was not something he thought too much about.

Instead, he gained a basketball scholarship to attend Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas before graduating with a marketing degree from the University of Arkansas in 1965. He would go on to work as an appliance salesman and then at the Brooks-Pollard Agency, copywriting adverts and handling accounts. 

However, by the late 1960s, Holyfield traded in the office life for one that saw him hit the road with his wife, Nancy, moving to Nashville to ply his career as a budding songwriter with the only credentials on his resume being an album recorded in 1971. He would meet another songwriter, Bob McDill, that would eventually lead to his 1973 hit single, a cover of Johnny Russell’s “Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer” based on their experiences in a local bar. 

In 1975 Holyfield saw his first song reach the top of the Billboard country chart with “You’re My Best Friend,” performed by Don Williams, which eventually led to several big names in the country scene of that era looking to collaborate with the new music star: Crystal Gayle and Charley Pride being two notable names. 

Holyfield gradually moved away from songwriting and took on roles representing Nashville’s music community. He lobbied lawmakers and testified to Congress in efforts to protect copyrights and royalties and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992.