Songwriter. He was a country music artist best known for penning Cal Smith's smash hit "Country Bumpkin", which received the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music song of the year awards in 1974. Born Donald William Choate, he was working as a shipping clerk when he wrote his first hit song "Lonesome Waltz", recorded by George Morgan for Columbia Records in 1953. In 1963, he signed with Tree Publishing and wrote "Saginaw, Michigan" recorded by Lefty Frizzell which spent five weeks atop the country singles charts. His many compositions include "Frost on the Pumpkin", "She talked a lot about Texas", "It's Time to Pay the Fiddler", "If Teardrops Were Silver" and "Walk Tall". Wayne's songs have been recorded by Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Tanya Tucker, Tex Ritter, Ernest Tubb, among many others. He also served as president of the Nashville Songwriters Association International and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1978. Cause of death: cancer at age 78.
Songwriter. He was a country music artist best known for penning Cal Smith's smash hit "Country Bumpkin", which received the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music song of the year awards in 1974. Born Donald William Choate, he was working as a shipping clerk when he wrote his first hit song "Lonesome Waltz", recorded by George Morgan for Columbia Records in 1953. In 1963, he signed with Tree Publishing and wrote "Saginaw, Michigan" recorded by Lefty Frizzell which spent five weeks atop the country singles charts. His many compositions include "Frost on the Pumpkin", "She talked a lot about Texas", "It's Time to Pay the Fiddler", "If Teardrops Were Silver" and "Walk Tall". Wayne's songs have been recorded by Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Tanya Tucker, Tex Ritter, Ernest Tubb, among many others. He also served as president of the Nashville Songwriters Association International and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1978. Cause of death: cancer at age 78.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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