Wilkin wrote country classic ‘Long Black Veil’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Songwriter Marijohn Wilkin, who helped pen such classics as “The Long Black Veil” and “One Day at a Time,” has died. She was 86.

Wilkin died Saturday, said S. Reese, director of Woodlawn Roesch-Patton Funeral Home.

Wilkin had learned last year that her 2003 triple-bypass heart operation had failed and that she was not a candidate for another procedure.

“It’s OK,” she said. “I have my faith. I am ready to go. Don’t be sad for me.”

Wilkin was a founder of the Nashville Songwriters Association, a nonprofit that advocates for songwriters. She was dubbed “the den mother of Music Row.” She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.

Wilkin and Danny Dill composed “The Long Black Veil” in 1959, which was recorded by Lefty Frizzell. The song has become an evergreen, with recordings by Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, The Band, The Kingston Trio, Burl Ives and dozens of others.

Associated Press