1 "The Great Speckled Bird" 1936. Acuff’s storied take on this gospel tune, penned by Rev. Guy Smith, teaches us a lot about how early sacred and secular country songs borrowed from each other.

The gospel song became Acuff's signature, and the performance drew him the most fan mail in WSM radio's history. More hits like "Wabash Cannonball" and "Night Train to Memphis" followed.

Roy Acuff, 89, the singer and fiddler who was known to millions of Grand Ole Opry listeners as the ”King of Country Music”; he performed his best-known songs, ”Wabash Cannonball,” ”The ...

Roy Acuff, the singer and fiddler who was known to millions of Grand Ole Opry listeners as the ”King of Country Music,” died Monday at Baptist Hospital in Nashville. He was 89. He died of ...

Grand Ole Opry legend Roy Acuff, who died 24 years ago today, performs his signature song "Wabash Cannonball" on the Grand Ole Opry stage.