Country music iconic songwriter Jimbeau Hinson dies at the age of 70 less than a year after reportedly undergoing underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery and suffering two strokes.
WSMV reports that after suffering from the stroke and undergoing the surgery, Jimbeau Hinson’s health began to decline rapidly. Along with the two health concerns, Hinson had been living with HIV since 1985. His recent stroke occurred at the beginning of 2022.
The media outlet reveals that Jimbeau Hinson began his professional writing career in the 1960s. He started working with country music icon Loretta Lynn when he was just 16-years-old. His first big commercial success as a songwriter was in 1969 with Sugar in the Flowers by Anthony Armstrong Jones. He received his first ASCAP Award at 18-years-old for that piece.
Jimbeau Hinson went on to write other various hit singles for The Oak Ridge Boys, David Lee Murphy, Kathy Mattea, John Conlee, and Steve Earle. He received his second ASCAP award for writing Find Yourself Another Puppet for Brenda Lee.
Jimbeau Hinson Opens Up About Writing The Oak Ridge Boys’ Hit Single ‘Fancy Free’
During a 2013 interview with Songfacts, Jimbeau Hinson spoke about writing the hit single Fancy Free for The Oak Ridge Boys. “It was meh first #1 country song,” he recalled. “I wrote that song back when I was about 18 or 19. I was managing The Oak Ridge Boys’ publishing company. They were at the #1 Southern Gospel Quartet at the time. And I knew nothing about gospel music. I just sort of fell into that job by fluke.”
Jimbeau Hinson then spoke about Loretta Lynn’s involvement in his career. “Loretta Lynn was instrumental in bringing me to [Nashville]. I signed with her publishing company. And they threw me in the room with this one guy who was about 20 years old. His name was Roy August Horstmeyer. He was a big Bob Dylan fan. And I was in love with Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton. We wrote the most disjointed songs you’ve ever heard.”
When asked about his relationship with Loretta Lynn, Jimbeau Hinson declared, “It’s been decades since I’ve even laid eye on Loretta Lynn. We live in the same town. But is’a real cliqueish town. You sort of get in your own bunch. And I’ve gone from one to another since those days.”
Jimbeau Hinson goes on to discuss the highs and lows of his career. “Well, they come that way. Every good thing that’s ever happened to me always comes with a big wallop right along with it. Just to ground you and let you know, you’re not that big sh— after all.”
In regards to what inspired his songwriting, Jimbeau Hinson stated that he sometimes has an artist in mind when he’s writing. “If I’m writing with the artist, we’re writing something for [them]. It just depends.”
