ROOTS of Country Music

Akeman, David (Stringbean)

To millions of younger country music fans, David Akeman (Jun. 17, 1915 ~ Nov. 10, 1973), better known as Stringbean, was one of the comedy powerhouses of the Grand Ole Opry and television's Hee Haw, of which he was one of the original cast members. As a banjo player, however, his work goes back to the 1940s and a three-year stint with Bill Monroe. All of this ended tragically for Akeman and his wife, Estelle, on November 10, 1973.

Modest and unassuming, Stringbean enjoyed hunting and fishing. Accustomed to the hard times of the Great Depression, he and his wife Estelle lived frugally in a tiny cabin near Ridgetop, Tennessee. Their only indulgence was a Cadillac. Depression-era bank failures caused Akeman not to trust banks with his money. Gossip around Nashville was that Akeman kept large amounts of cash on hand, even though he was by no means wealthy by entertainment industry standards.

On a Saturday night Nov. 10, 1973, Stringbean and his wife returned home after he performed at the Grand Ole Opry. Both were shot dead shortly after their arrival. The killers had waited for hours. The bodies were discovered the following morning by their neighbor, Grandpa Jones. Stringbean and his wife were killed by John A. Brown and his cousin Marvin Douglas Brown, who had heard rumors about them storing cash in his house and laid in wait until the Akemans arrived home from the Ryman Auditorium (where the Grand Ole Opry was located at the time).

After killing the Akemans, they packed several valuable items, including several firearms, in a pillowcase. The morning after, the Akemans' friend and neighbor, Grandpa Jones, discovered the bodies, alerted police and testified in court, positively identifying one of the stolen pistols as one he (Jones) gave Stringbean as a present.

They had ransacked the cabin and killed Stringbean when he arrived. His wife shrieked when she saw her husband murdered. She begged for her life, but was shot as well. According to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, upon their return, Mr. Akeman spotted the intruders in his home and evidently offered some resistance.

One of the Brown fatally shot Mr. Akeman, then pursued, shot and killed Mrs. Akeman. At their trial, each defendant blamed the other for the homicides. In 1996, 23 years after the murders, $20,000 in paper money was discovered behind a chimney brick in Stringbean's home. The money had deteriorated to such an extent that it was not usable and had to be turned in to a bank.

Marvin Douglas Brown fought his convictions in the appellate courts. On September 28, 1982, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the trial judge's order denying him a new trial. Marvin Brown ultimately granted an exclusive interview to Larry Brinton of the Nashville Banner. He admitted his part in the burglary and murders, but insisted John Brown fired the fatal shots. As Brown by his own admission had committed burglary (a felony) that resulted in death, Brown was legally guilty of murder, regardless of who fired the shots.

Marvin Brown died of natural causes in 2003, at the Brushy Mountain Prison, in Petros, Tennessee and is buried in the prison cemetery. John Brown is incarcerated in a Tennessee Special Needs Facility. In July 2008, the Tennessee Parole Board deferred any parole for 36 months after their switchboard was jammed for days from callers demanding he not be paroled.

Brown was again denied parole in July 2011. John Brown went before the parole board for the fourth time in July and was denied parole. "I'm asking the board to not do what was popular, but to do the hard thing which is to grant me parole," Brown told the board on July 19. The 60-year-old has served 37 years so far. He will not be up for parole again until 2014.The A&E cable television network profiled the case on a 2003 episode of its City Confidential series.

David and Estelle Akeman are buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. During the remaining production of Hee Haw, the scarecrow was left as a memorial.

Authors Note:

James Widener was a musician who played rhythm guitar with Hank Snow for nearly twelve years. He was robbed, severly beaten and shot twice. Widener died a week after Stringbean was murdered. James is said to have made comment about Stringbean's murder saying: "When music people die it usually comes in threes, I wonder who will be next?" He was robbed and brutally murdered the following week. 

Researched and written by: Richard Bell, Country Music Historian, Roots of Country Music Aug. 2011.

Stringbean

Listen to Stringbean