Hank Locklin

“It almost mashed me flatter than a fritter,” Hank Locklin once told the Birmingham News about being hit by a school bus at age 9. The incident gave the Grand Ole Opry staple, who died on March 8 at 91, a second chance early in life. He used it wisely.

During his recuperation, he learned to play guitar, combining that newfound skill with a singing ability honed in church. By the time Locklin was a teenager, he was a traveling musician, taking odd jobs along the way to help supplement his income. In the late 1940s, he ended up in Houston, where he hosted a radio show and sometimes spun his own records. They were infused with the new Nashville Sound, which eliminated steel guitars and fiddles in favor of string sections and backup vocals to create a smoother, more refined melody.

One day he played the song that would become his first hit (and one of his biggest), “Send Me the Pillow You Dream On.” The station received 200 pillows from listeners. Locklin later recorded the song for a small label, and it became a crossover hit in the U.S. and Britain. In 1955, he got his biggest break yet, a contract with RCA that led to 65 albums over a five-decade career. He lived longer than expected. None of those years were wasted ones.