Jack Clement, Cowboy Producer Who Shaped Country and Rockabilly, Dies at 82

Jack Henderson Clement, better known as ‘Cowboy’ Jack Clement, died on August 8 2013 at his Nashville home after a prolonged battle with liver cancer. He was 82.

Clement’s career stretched more than five decades and encompassed songwriting, record production, studio ownership, and music publishing. While studying at Memphis State University, he played steel guitar in a local band and co‑founded Fernwood Publishing Company. In 1956 he built a garage studio, recorded a demo, and took it to Sun Records. Sam Phillips heard the disc, hired him as an engineer and producer, and Clement spent three years at Sun working with Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Charlie Rich.

During that period he wrote two songs that became hits for Johnny Cash: “Ballad of a Teenage Queen” and “Guess Things Happen That Way.” Both topped the country chart and crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100.

Phillips fired Clement in 1959. He moved to Nashville in 1960, worked briefly for RCA under Chet Atkins, then left RCA and relocated to Beaumont, Texas. There he and Bill Hall opened Gulf Coast Recording Studios. It was at that facility that Clement suggested George Jones record “She Thinks I Still Care,” a song that reached No. 1 in 1962. He returned to Nashville in 1963.

Back in Nashville, Clement helped launch Charley Pride’s career. He financed a demo session, handed the tape to Chet Atkins, and produced 13 of Pride’s albums. Pride’s 29 chart‑topping singles included Clement‑written tracks such as “Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger.”

Clement’s songwriting catalog includes hits for several major artists: - “A Girl I Used to Know” – George Jones (No. 3) - “The One on the Right Is on the Left” – Johnny Cash (No. 2) - “Miller’s Cave” – Bobby Bare (No. 4) - “I Know One” – Jim Reeves (No. 6) - “Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger” – Charley Pride (No. 4)

In 1971 he founded Jack Music Inc., a label that helped launch Don Williams’s career. He also owned and operated the studio that would become Sound Emporium, a facility that has hosted recordings by artists ranging from Merle Haggard to Taylor Swift.

Clement’s influence earned him induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, and the Music City Walk of Fame. He was scheduled for induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in the fall of 2014.

He died surrounded by family in his Nashville home after declining treatment for liver cancer. The death was reported by UPI and other outlets, noting that his passing marked the loss of a producer whose work helped shape the sound of country and rockabilly for generations.

Today, Clement’s legacy lives on through the recordings he produced, the songs he wrote, and the artists he helped launch. His studio, publishing company, and label continue to influence the music industry, and his contributions are remembered by musicians and historians alike.