Song and sausage king Jimmy Dean dies at 81

Jimmy Dean, the man whose name adorns a line of sausage meats and whose country novelty songs were mainstays of 1960s AM radio, has died at his Richmond-area home at the age of 81, according to a New York Times obituary. In his later years, he conducted an effort to secure state-song designation for "Virginia," a song he wrote with his wife, Donna, who survives him. Virginia never did choose a state song. "When politics enters," Dean told the Hook in 2007, "out goes reality."

Following his February election, Dean has been slated for posthumous induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October. A day before his June 21 funeral and burial, there will be a public visitation from noon to 8pm at Nelsen Funeral Home.