Ray Pennington obit

Ray Pennington, 'I'm a Ramblin' Man' songwriter, dies in house fire at 86

 

He was not on the list.

Country musician, songwriter and producer Ray Pennington — whose song, "I'm A Ramblin' Man," became a chart-topping hit for Waylon Jennings — died Wednesday at 86.

Pennington was killed in a house fire at his Sumner County home, in the 2600 block of New Hope Road. Officials believe the fire started at 2:30 p.m., and was caused by a golf cart in the garage. Pennington's wife was also inside the house at the time, and escaped.

“The word we got was smoke was coming in the house," said Shackle Island Fire Department Chief Marty Bowers, "so Mr. Pennington walked out to the garage to see what was going on, and the golf cart was on fire. The smoke was so bad that his wife couldn’t get to him."

Pennington established his country music career in Nashville in the 1960s. He first recorded "I'm A Ramblin' Man" in 1967 for Capitol Records, and his version rose to No. 29 on the charts. In 1974, Waylon Jennings scored a No. 1 hit with his version of the song, and it was also the namesake of his 1974 album, "The Ramblin' Man."

He also co-founded Step One Records, which released albums and singles by Ray Price, Kitty Wells, Faron Young and Hank Thompson through the 1980s and '90s.

Two firefighters were transported for heat exhaustion while fighting the blaze, one was a Shackle Island firefighter. The other firefighter was a volunteer for Shackle Island and the White House Community Volunteer Fire Department.

Owen Harrington, son of Mark Harrington, director of the volunteer Sumner County Fire Buffs, was one of the two firefighters treated for heat exhaustion today.

Owen Harrington has been a firefighter for about a year and currently serves with the Shackle Island and White House Community Volunteer Fire Departments.

Pennington first performed in a western swing band called the Western Rhythm Boys, which performed in Ohio. In 1958, he signed with King Records and released "Three Hearts in a Tangle" under the name Ray Starr. However, Pennington was dissatisfied with the recording, so he asked that it be withdrawn as a single. Pennington then took up record producer and artists and repertoire jobs at the label, including a production credit on Hawkshaw Hawkins' final album, Lonesome 7-7203, one of the first country albums to feature both black and white session musicians. He also produced for The Stanley Brothers and Reno and Smiley, also playing drums for the latter.

Roy Drusky covered "Three Hearts in a Tangle", taking his rendition to number 2 on the country charts in 1961. Pennington continued to perform in both the Western Rhythm Boys and another band called the Starliners. He also worked at a record store and released a rhythm and blues single called "I Have to Laugh to Keep from Crying", also under the name Ray Starr.

Pennington moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1964, where he worked at Pamper Music, producing for Tex Williams and Kenny Price, who recorded two of Pennington's songs: "Walking on New Grass" and "Happy Tracks". Pennington signed to Capitol Records in 1966 as a recording artist, charting three songs (including the number 29 "I'm a Ramblin' Man") before leaving. He moved to Monument Records in 1969, where he charted five more times, but soon left that label to work at RCA Records. While at RCA, Waylon Jennings covered "I'm a Ramblin' Man" and took it to number 1, as Pennington continued to work as a producer for RCA artists such as Billy Walker and Norma Jean. Pennington charted his last solo single, "She Wanted a Little Bit More", on MRC Records in 1978. He later founded the duo Bluestone with Jerry McBee, and charted "Haven't I Loved You Somewhere Before".

In 1984, Pennington co-founded Step One Records with Mel Holt. Ray Price was the first act signed to the label, and fiddler Clinton Gregory charted three Top 30 hits while on Step One. Western Flyer, Celinda Pink and The Geezinslaws were also among the label's roster.

While on Step One, Pennington recorded multiple albums with the Swing Shift Band, co-founded with steel guitarist Buddy Emmons. This band charted with "Turn Me Loose and Let Me Swing" in 1988.

Pennington died on October 7, 2020, at his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee.