Tennessee

June Carter Cash

(1929-2003)

Singer, Actress

Fame-O-Meter-6/10

Resting Place-Hendersonville Memory Gardens, Hendersonville

GPS Coordinates-

36°18'43.6"N, 86°35'33.2"W

June Carter Cash is probably best known for being the other half of Johnny Cash, but her career is deeper than that. Born into the famous Carter family, she performed with her sisters and mother. She was an actress on both stage and screen as well. June Carter co-wrote the song "Ring of Fire" long before Johnny Cash rerecorded it later. June Carter Cash won multiple Grammys in her career, some with Johnny Cash, and some solo. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2025. 

Johnny Cash

(1932-2003)

Singer, Actor

Fame-O-Meter-9/10

Resting Place-Hendersonville Memory Gardens, Hendersonville

GPS Coordinates-

36°18'43.5"N, 86°35'32.8"W

Johnny Cash, aka The Man in Black, did almost it all in his lifetime. He was a soldier and actor; he was a singer and husband. Johnny Cash has minor hits before rerecording "Ring of Fire", which crossed over from country music to pop music. Cash and his wife, June Carter, recorded the hit "Jackson" together. Cash legendarily recorded an entire album, At Folsom Prison, as he was popular in prisons across the country due to the song "Folsom Prison Blues". Cash even hosted a show from 1968-1971 that allowed newer acts to be featured. Johnny Cash joined Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson to form The Highwaymen from 1985-1995. Cash revitalized his career in later years as well, with covers of songs like "Hurt" as well as his own original music. He was a true American outlaw.

Charlie Daniels

(1936-2020)

Musician

Fame-O-Meter-6/10

Resting Place-Mount Juliet Memorial Gardens, Mount Juliet

GPS Coordinates-

36°12'20.4"N, 86°31'39.3"W

Charlie Daniels was a fixture in music for nearly six decades. Originally a background musician for other famous acts, Charlie Daniels set about to form his own band, and in 1973 he had his first big hit with "Uneasy Rider". But it was in 1979 that the song that would define him would be released. "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" was a small hit initially, but it was later used in the film Urban Cowboy. Other hits would follow, but he would never eclipse the fame of his signature song. Daniels is enshrined in the Country Music Hall of Fame and others. Be sure to check out the sweet violin/fiddle bows left at his grave as mementos! Such a unique offering!

Jack Daniels

(1846-1911)

Businessman

Fame-O-Meter-9/10

Resting Place-Lynchburg Cemetery, Lynchburg

GPS Coordinates-

35°17'08.4"N, 86°22'39.3"W

Having been to hundreds of graves, I have seen all sorts of monuments, stones, sculptures, and statues. But I haven't seen anything like the grave of Jack Daniels. Mr. Daniels has two permanent chairs at his gravesite where one can stop to get off their feet or maybe, just maybe, open a bottle of Jack Daniels in his honor. Daniels was experimenting with distilling by his teens and after his father passed, he received an inheritance which he used to purchase the land the distilleries are still on today. The Jack Daniels brand is estimated to be worth $6 billion today. 

Meriwether Lewis

(1774-1809)

Explorer, Scientist, Politician

Fame-O-Meter-9/10

Resting Place-Pioneer Cemetery, Hohenwald

GPS Coordinates-

35°30'40.3"N, 87°27'37.9"W

Few men have ever been as famous in their time as Meriwether Lewis was in his. Half of the titular Lewis and Clark and the leader of the Corps of Discovery, Lewis was tasked by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory and find a passage to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way Lewis, along with William Clark, filled in his journal, being the first white men to see much of the truly Wild West. Plant species, insects, animals, and dozens of Native American tribes were all recorded by Lewis in his journal. Though things were extremely difficult on the Corps of Discovery at times, they managed to only lose one person on the three year trip--and that was due to a burst appendix. After his fame, Lewis found it hard to settle down into regular, everyday life. 

President James Polk

(1795-1849)

Politician

Fame-O-Meter-7/10

Resting Place-Tennessee State Capitol Building and Grounds, Nashville

GPS Coordinates-

36°09'58.4"N, 86°47'01.5"W

President James K Polk was the 11th President of the United States, serving from 1845-1849. Polk oversaw many milestones in the United States such as adding new states along the Pacific Ocean, starting the U.S. Naval Academy, authorizing the first postage stamp, and standardizing the November election day across America to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. He is generally considered a mid-to-upper ranked president for his time in office.

Eddie Rabbitt

(1941-1998)

Singer, Songwriter

Fame-O-Meter-2/10

Resting Place-Calvary Cemetery, Nashville

GPS Coordinates-

36°09'00.3"N, 86°44'17.7"W

Eddie Rabbitt was a singer-songwriter in country music, who sometimes crossed over into pop rock. His biggest hits were "I Love a Rainy Night" and "Driving My Life Away".  He wrote the hit song "Kentucky Rain" for Elvis Presley and the song "Pure Love" for Ronnie Milsap.

Barry Sadler

(1940-1989)

Singer, Soldier

Fame-O-Meter-2/10

Resting Place-Nashville National Cemetery, Murfreesboro

GPS Coordinates-

36°14'22.0"N, 86°43'36.5"W

Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler was a soldier who was injured in Vietnam. During his recovery, he wrote his only well-known song, "Ballad of the Green Berets". Vietnam produced some wonderfully memorable music, but most of these were anti-war songs. Sadler had one of the few hits that was pro-war or pro-army, at the least. 

Conway Twitty

(1933-1993)

Singer

Fame-O-Meter-6/10

Resting Place-Sumner Memorial Gardens, Gallatin

GPS Coordinates-

36°24'21.2"N, 86°25'53.2"W

I have to wonder how many people have walked past Conway Twitty's grave without knowing. Conway Twitty--real name Harold Jenkins--only has a small plaque under his name near the ground indicated the true identity of the country music legend. In his lifetime, Conway Twitty was country royalty. He had an astounding 55 number hits in country music. 55! Supposedly he took the name Conway Twitty after being inspired by Elvis Presley. One of his biggest hits was "Hello Darlin'". Conway Twitty also occasionally formed a power duet with Loretta Lynn, and they had several hits together as well, such as "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man". Despite such fame, Twitty only won one Grammy for his duet with Loretta Lynn "After the Fire is Gone". He was later posthumously awarded a second Grammy for the song "Hello Darlin'".