UPDATE with complete obituary:
Pioneering Nashville talent booker
Billy Deaton, known as "The Deacon of Music Row," died Saturday, Oct. 31, after a lengthy illness. He was 74.
Mr. Deaton arrived in Nashville in the late 1960s and handled booking and management for
Faron Young, now a member of the
Country Music Hall of Fame. Where Young could be tempestuous and mercurial, Mr. Deaton was business-like and cordial, smoothing many a hairy situation, and his guiding hand was an essential element in Young's success.
Mr. Deaton went on to handle booking for other famed artists, including
Willie Nelson,
Merle Haggard,
Charley Pride and
Roger Miller. Mr. Deaton's roster was lengthy and impressive enough that he would often include the complete list in advertisements and run the slogan, "One call gets 'em all."
He kept an office on Music Row for more than 30 years, and he is also credited with co-writing country hits "Wine Me Up" and "Louisiana Man."
Most in the industry knew him as a talent booker, though. He was the man who brokered deals, arranging for performers to play shows, and he did so in a manner that tended to please both the performer and the promoter.
"Regardless of who the artist was, the number to call was 244‑4259, The Deaton Agency," said Rod Harris, the president of the National Association of Talent Directors, an organization that endowed a Belmont University scholarship in Mr. Deaton's name.
"His integrity was of the highest caliber, he stood tall with his peers," Harris said. "Billy Deaton set standards we all could live by, he was loved, and he will be missed."
Career began in military
Born near Ruleville, Miss., Mr. Deaton spent much of his childhood in the fields with his sharecropping parents, raising cotton and corn.
In 1954, he joined the United States Air Force, and during his military stint he worked as a disc jockey on the Armed Forces Radio Network.
In 1959, he moved to San Antonio, Texas, and there he met future Grand Ole Opry star Charlie Walker, who encouraged him to work toward a music career. Mr. Deaton was soon signed as a recording artist to Smash Records, and he also recorded for San Antonio-based TNT Records. His most notable single was called "You're Responsible!"
Mr. Deaton sold advertising for a Texas radio station, and in the 1960s he began booking local shows. His business thrived, ultimately earning Young's attention and admiration, and thus earning Mr. Deaton a one-way ticket to Nashville.
"He was one of the good guys, and he was a real pioneer in this industry," said Creative Artists Agency's Rod Essig, one of today's top agents. "He loved music, and he worked in the business until his health made it impossible. He always wanted to make deals that made everybody happy, because if everyone is happy with the deal then everybody wants to work together again."
Funeral arrangements for Mr. Deaton are not yet complete, but services probably will be on Friday.