Jimmy Ray Dean was born in Plainview, Texas on August 10, 1928
becoming a recording star, television host, actor and
extremely successful businessman.

Following a stint in the U.S. Air Force in the late 1940’s
he hosted a very popular television program in Washington D.C.
where he introduced several stars of the future, including Patsy
Cline and Roy Clark. For several years in the late 50’s and early 60’s
Jimmy Dean hosted a TV variety show and the CBS News
Morning Show in New York.

With “Bumming Around” in 1953, Jimmy had his first top five
country hit. “Deep Blue Sea” charted on the pop Hit Parade in 1957
but it was his world-wide #1 chart topper “Big Bad John” that would
be his biggest hit in 1961, earning him a Grammy.

In the early 1960’s while hosting the Tonight Show, Jimmy Dean
was first to introduce many new country recording artists, including
George Jones, Roger Miller, Buck Owens and Charlie Rich
to a big national audience.

“Dear Ivan” and a two sided hit, “To A Sleeping Beauty” backed
with “The Cajun Queen,” were hits in 1962 before a song about
John F. Kennedy’s heroism in World War II, “P.T. 109” gave
Jimmy his second top ten pop success.

With more than 25 hits to his credit, Jimmy Dean topped the
country Hit Parade in 1965 with his #1, “The First Thing Every Morning.”

In 1969 he founded the very successful Jimmy Dean Sausage Company.
As an actor, Jimmy Dean starred in the 1971 James Bond movie,
“Diamonds Are Forever.”

Today Jimmy lives in semiretirement with wife Donna at their
home overlooking the James River at Richmond, Virginia. .