Event Description
Pat Jackson began playing trumpet in Springfield junior and senior high school bands before moving on to the guitar for gigs at parties, bars, and bowling alleys around Springfield. Thanks to a tip from friend Craig White, Pat played bass in a band with Speedy Haworth that performed on the first nationally televised country music show in Germany. He then moved to Nashville, joined the Drifting Cowboys (Hank Williams’s original group), and recorded a double album of Hank Williams hits with the band. For the next few years, Pat had steady gigs and session work in Nashville, including playing bass for songwriter Don King, whose band eventually became Sawyer Brown, and a six-year stint with country singer Billy Dean. Meanwhile, he picked up a day job as director of television at Middle Tennessee State University. The position allowed him to produce at least three songwriters’ shows. He also played several gigs with Supe and the Sandwiches, and with Supe’s alter ego, Silly Grandpa. Since retiring from the university, Pat continues to busy himself with producing records and playing various gigs in Nashville.