Walter Haynes

Services for Walter Haynes, 80, of Bullard will be held on Sunday, January 4, 2008 at 3:00 PM at Tyler Metro Church with Rev. Jerry Phelps and Bro. Bill Haynes officiating. Private burial will follow at Cathedral in the Pines Cemetery under the direction of Stewart Family Funeral Home in Tyler. Mr. Haynes passed away on Thursday, January 1, 2009 at Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler. He was born on December 14, 1928 in Kingsport, Tennessee to the late Robert and Stella Haynes. Mr. Haynes went to Nashville at age 18 from Kingsport, Tennessee to play his fiddle and steel guitar on the Grand Ole Opry, beginning a long and illustrious career as a musician. As a staff musician on the Opry for 13 years, Haynes was hired by Little Jimmy Dickens and performed and traveled with Dickens for 6 years playing steel guitar. He was also a session musician while playing on the Grand Ole Opry. He played steel guitar, electric and flat-top guitar on sessions. In addition to the Opry and session work, Mr. Haynes played on an early morning radio program with WSM Television. On the Opry and in sessions, he played with the top stars including: Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Sr. and Jr., Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, The Oak Ridge Boys, Larry Gatlin and The Gatlin Brothers, Barbara Mandrell, Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs, Mel Tillis, Bill Anderson, and many others. Mr. Haynes played steel guitar on Patsy Cline’s recordings on Decca Records and played on her Opry and Television appearances. He is fondly referred to as Patsy Cline’s Steel Guitar Player. Mr. Haynes went to work for Moss Rose Publishing as director. He remarkably had 100 songs recorded the first year. While at Moss Rose, he started doing independent recordings as a producer. Later, he headed Kapp Records, a Division of MCA, and later transferred to Decca as an assistant to Owen Bradley. Owen soon turned a lot of the roster over the Walter. Some of the artists he worked with included: Marty Robbins, Cal Smith, Jeanne Pruett, Jack Green, and Jeannie Seeley. Mr. Hayes produced the “Father of Bluegrass”’ Bill Monroe, for MCA Records for 13 years. At a time when Owen Bradley was hospitalized he turned to Walter to produce Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn. Walter spent 12 years with MCA Records. In 1973, Walter produced two of the top 5 songs in the nation which were “Satin Sheets” with Jeanne Pruett and “The Lord Knows I’m Drinking” with Cal Smith. In 1974, he had the Song of the Year with Cal Smith’s “Country Bumpkin” which won him the prized Producer of the Year Award, making him a Vice-President the last 3 years he was at MCA Records. After MCA, Mr. Haynes became an Independent Producer and was hired as a consultant for IBC Records, a new Independent record company. He brought IBC to the number two Independent label in the Nation the first year, aided with Jeanne Pruett’s three consecutive top ten hits. Mr. Haynes was an accomplished songwriter with many hits to his credit as well as his production accomplishments. In 1999, his publishing company had a Darryl Singletary single in Giant Records entitled, “The Note”. He built three 24-track recording studios and previously owned Walter Haynes Productions and Recording in Longview. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame of The North American Country Music Association, International, and the Texas Independent Music Hall of Fame for the year 2000. In 2003, Walter was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in St. Louis, Missouri. At the time of his death, Mr. Haynes had been teaching steel guitar, guitar, fiddle, and Dobro lessons in Bullard. He will be greatly missed by those he influenced and loved through the years. Mr. Haynes is survived by a loving family including his wife of 26 years, Cindy Haynes of Bullard; a daughter, Michele Ray; step-son, David Scott Nelson; grandchildren, Brandi Ray and Scottie Ray; step-grandchildren, Savannah and Bethany Nelson; great-grandchildren, Madeline Ray and Haley Brook Ray; sister, Carolyn Mills of Nashville; and brother, Bill Haynes of Sevierville, Tennessee. Pallbearers will be Connie Vaughan, Ron Whistler, David Mitchell, Danny Page, Scott Nelson, and Bob Randall.

Walter Haynes

December 14, 1928 - January 1, 2009