Jimmy Wayne photo courtesy of the Valory Music Co.

Celebrity deaths, it’s been said, come in threes, and that was certainly true this week with the passing of Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon.

They were not country figures, but each of them had a small level of influence on the genre. And in the middle of their much-covered deaths, the loss of songwriter Tim Krekel — who authored a pair of hits — was overshadowed.

The roll call:

• The controversial Michael Jackson never appeared on the country chart on his own, though the mass collection of stars known as U.S.A. For Africa did show up in 1985 with the benefit record “We Are The World.” It put the Gloved One in the studio with country stars Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kenny Rogers. Michael’s pop hit “She’s Out Of My Life” was also covered with minor success in 1980 by Johnny Duncan & Janie Fricke, who altered the title to “He’s Out Of My Life.” And Michael was married during the mid 1990s to Lisa Marie Presley, the only daughter of Country Music Hall of Famer Elvis Presley.

“I grew up listening to him and in fact I used to moon walk down the hallway in school when I was in the sixth grade,” Jimmy Wayne told The Gaston Gazette. “I just can’t believe it. We have now experienced a day like my Mom explained to me the world experienced when Elvis died.”

• The Texas-born Farrah Fawcett became a pin-up star in the late 1970s after gaining fame through her role on “Charlie’s Angels.” Two months after the show left prime time — and several years after Farrah left the series — she got referenced in the Bellamy Brothers’ single “You’re My Favorite Star.” That song also mentioned Elvis and Brigitte Bardot while David and Howard Bellamy firmly planted tongue in cheek with the line “I’m beggin’ Dolly’s pardon if I’m hurtin’ Charley’s pride.”

“Farrah Fawcett is a legend,” said Wynonna Thursday in a statement. “It just seems impossible to me that she is gone. I just saw her smiling face on TV last night and today found out that she is no longer with us. She fought so long and hard. I admire her strength and her willing spirit. What a gift she gave to us all. She will be deeply missed.”

• Ed McMahon worked with plenty of country stars who were paraded across the stage of “The Tonight Show” when he was the sidekick of the legendary Johnny Carson. Ed also hosted the 1980s talent series “Star Search,” which was in many ways a predecessor to “American Idol.” Among the artists who competed on the program who went on to become country stars: Sawyer Brown, Ty Herndon, Little Texas, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Dean and Phil Vassar.

• Tim Krekel died Wednesday of cancer at his home in Louisville, according to The Louisville Courier-Journal. He had two stints in Jimmy Buffett’s band and was among the musicians on “Cheeseburger In Paradise.” He also wrote Crystal Gayle’s 1984 No. 1 hit “Turning Away” and Patty Loveless’ 1996 No. 1 “You Can Feel Bad.”

• A memorial service for record producer and keyboard player Barry Beckett has been set for July 12 at the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. Barry produced hits by Lorrie Morgan, Kenny Chesney and Neal McCoy and played on Dolly Parton’s “Why’d You Come In Here Lookin’ Like That,” Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome” and Rosanne Cash’s “The Way We Make A Broken Heart.”

• Violinist Lillian Vann Hunt died at age 95 in Nashville last month, according to The Tennessean. Her first love was classical music, and she was a founding member of the Nashville Symphony. But she also took part in the string sections that backed numerous classic country recordings, including Lynn Anderson’s “Rose Garden,” Johnny Cash’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me.”

• Symphony violinist Cate Myer died at age 49 on June 5, The Tennessean reported. As a member of the studio ensemble the Nashville String Machine, she contributed to Keith Urban’s “Everybody,” Carrie Underwood’s “Just A Dream” and Lee Ann Womack’s “A Little Past Little Rock.”

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Alan Jackson photo courtesy of SonyBMG Nashville.

Alan Jackson’s new video, “Sissy’s Song,” started airing on GAC on Monday, and it’s one that was inspired by a tragedy in his own life.

Leslie “Sissy” Fitzgerald worked for Alan and his family, and they saw her on a daily basis until May 20, 2007, when she died in a motorcycle accident. Her husband, who restores cars for a living, works with Alan, and Sissy also left behind a college-age daughter and a son in high school.

The shock of such a sudden tragedy hit everyone who knew her, including Alan.

“I didn’t sleep for a while,” he says. “So I sat down one day and wrote this song, and after that I felt all right.”

Alan gave a recording of “Sissy’s Song” to the Fitzgeralds to use at the funeral, and Alan quickly discovered that it had the same impact on others that it had on him.

“A lot of people told me how much it made them feel better and helped them get through it a little easier,” he says, “so I was very proud of it.”

The black-and-white video, directed by Scott Scovill, features Alan in performance shots against the back-lit pews of the historic Bear Creek Church, a tiny Civil War-era building listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

In addition to seeing him in the “Sissy’s Song” video, you’ll soon be able to spot Alan in a CBS special. On April 6, the day after the “44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards”, he’ll be part of the performing cast taping “George Strait: ACM Artist Of The Decade, An All Star Concert Special.” Brooks & Dunn, Jamey Johnson, Montgomery Gentry, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Ann Womack, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, John Rich, Jack Ingram and Jamie Foxx are the latest guests announced for the show, which airs May 27.

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Gary Allan photo courtesy of MCA Nashville.

Gary Allan speaks out on his wife’s suicide in an article that will appear in the new issue of People magazine, which hits newsstands tomorrow. This marks the first time he has publicly discussed the tragedy since it happened in October of 2004.

Gary reveals that Angela suffered from depression, but was never properly treated for the condition because it always seemed to start with allergy-related migraines. In the article, he shares in detail the events that led to his wife’s death.

He remembers her acting very “out of character” when he returned home from taking their children to a Halloween party. He had tucked the kids in for the night and watched TV until about midnight before going into the bedroom “to be close to her in case she needed something.” Angela asked him to check on one of the kids, and he said, “I just put them to bed, everyone’s fine.” Moments later, she said, “Would you go get me a Coke? I feel like I’m sick.” Shortly after he walked to the kitchen, Gary heard a loud pop. “It sounded like she had thrown something,” he says. “I had a gun safe underneath the bed and she had taken the pistol, stuck it in her mouth and pulled the trigger. She was on the bed. She was gone.”

Gary says immediately after Angela died, he couldn’t write and was a mess, but slowly discovered music was his “only real escape,” adding, “It became like a therapy.” Though he refused at first, Allan eventually took medication for his own depression and says it worked for him. Regarding the children, who attended counseling sessions with Gary, he says, “It’s a scar they’ll always carry, but I think everyone is going to land on their feet.”

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