Time does take its toll, and in the recent years, we’ve seen a lot of good people go. Yesterday, it was Jimmy Dean’s turn. The country singer cum sausage king passed away on Sunday at the age of 81.

In his early years, he grew up in Plainview, Texas. His childhood years were not kind to him, but he got his break in the 1950s as a country singer. He is best known for his song Big Bad John, which became a hit in 1961. Now considered a classic, the song is about a coal miner who acted heroically by saving his fellow miners during a mining accident. The song got so big that Jimmy Dean got a Grammy for it.

Later on, the country singer expanded his horizons and founded Jimmy Dean Meat Co., which earned him a different kind of reputation. The sausages produced by the company basically became a household fixture for countless Americans. Aside from these activities, Jimmy Dean was also involved in other projects, one of which was as a host of The Morning Show (a CBS program).

The iconic entertainer and businessman had been suffering a variety of health problems, according to his wife. However, they were not that grave for them to think that the end was near for Jimmy. On Sunday, though, as he was sitting down in front of the television while eating, he quietly passed away.

He may have left this world, but let us not forget Jimmy Dean, one of the greatest entertainers of our time.