Songwriter Jimbeau Hinson passes away

Sunday, March 6, 2022 – Singer-songwriter Jimbeau Hinson, who wrote songs for The Oak Ridge Boys, Brenda Lee and others, passed away Friday at 70.

In July 2021, ye underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery and suffered a stroke as a result. Over the next eight months, he made "remarkable improvements, but suffered a second stroke in recent weeks, and his health began to decline rapidly," his publicist said.

Born in Newton, Miss., Hinson's professional writing career began when Loretta Lynn brought him to Nashville when he was only 16 to sign a publishing contract with music publishers, The Wilburn Brothers. His first big commercial success as a songwriter came in 1969 with "Sugar In The Flowers" by Anthony Armstrong Jones, scoring his first ASCAP Award at 18.

Hinson went on to write hits for The Oak Ridge Boys ("Fancy Free," "Let Me Be The One," "When You Give It Away," "Colors"), Kathy Mattea ("Train of Memories"), David Lee Murphy ("Party Crowd"), Patty Loveless ("I'm On Your Side," "After All"), John Conlee ("Harmony"), Steve Earle ("Hillbilly Highway," "Down The Road") and his childhood idol, Brenda Lee, who recorded "Find Yourself Another Puppet" that scored Jimbeau's second ASCAP award.

Lee also recorded "Broken Trust" which became a Top 10 hit in 1980. Other artists who have recorded his songs include Carol Channing, Reba McEntire, Tammy Wynette, Tracy Lawrence, Ricky Skaggs, Connie Smith, Rodney Crowell, The Goldens, Ty Herndon, Lee Greenwood and Rhonda Vincent.

He released several albums of his own including the "Strong Medicine," released on Wrinkled Records in 2013. He wrote ll 11 tracks, which chronicled not only his journey living with HIV, but also his relationship with his wife, Brenda. The CD inspired the creation of "Beautiful Jim," an award-winning documentary film by Rex Jones based on Hinson's life.

Hinson mentored young writers, including Frankie Ballard, JT Hodges and Keith Urban. At the time of his passing, Hinson was working on an autobiography titled "The All of Everything in the Life and Times of Jimbeau Hinson."

He is survived by Brenda Fielder, his wife of 42 years.