Grand Ole Opry Star Billy Grammer Dies At 85

Country star Billy Grammer, best known for his 1959 hit “Gotta Travel On”, has passed away at the age of 85.

Serving in the US Army during World War II, Grammer married his high school sweetheart Ruth Burzynski in 1944. After the war Billy signed with Monument Records out of Nashville, Tennessee where he met Paul Clayton, the writer of his hit song “Gotta Travel On”. “Gotta Travel On” charted as high as #4 on the US Pop Charts and sold over a million records.

After his hit record he went on to found RG&G in 1965 with Clyde Reid and J.W. Gower. The group built and sold the Grammer guitar until 1968 when their Nashville factory burnt down. His legendary guitar is still in the Country Music Hall of Fame to this day.

Here is the song that put Billy Grammer on the map: