John Anderson attended the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Class of 2026 Medallion Ceremony in Nashville on Sunday, Oct. 18, three days before his death, CBS News reported.
His family announced on Wednesday, Oct. 21, that the singer behind “Swingin’” and “Seminole Wind” had died at 71. A cause of death has not been shared.
Tim McGraw Was With Him That Night
Tim McGraw, who was one of the inductees that night, wrote on Instagram that he spent time with Anderson at the ceremony.
“I was talking with John Sunday night at the HOF ceremony. He was in such good spirits,” McGraw wrote, according to Milltown Radio. “We talked, we laughed, we sang his songs that I loved so much together, just goofing off.”
He said he was “completely heartbroken” by Anderson’s death. “There will never be a stylist in music, any music, that was so defining as his,” McGraw added, per CBS News.
What Happened at the Ceremony
The 31st annual Medallion Ceremony took place in the museum’s CMA Theater, according to Country Now. McGraw, songwriter Paul Overstreet, and bluegrass duo the Stanley Brothers became the Hall’s 159th, 160th, and 161st members.
Randy Owen gave McGraw his medallion, Tanya Tucker presented Overstreet’s, and Vince Gill inducted the Stanley Brothers. Lainey Wilson, Lady A, Parker McCollum, Blake Shelton, Jamey Johnson and Billy Strings performed, and Patty Loveless closed the show.
Anderson was there with his wife, Jamie, according to Getty Images. Country Now’s photos show him in the back row of a group of Hall of Fame members. More on his wife and daughters here.
He Was Inducted Two Years Earlier
Anderson received his own medallion at the same ceremony on Oct. 20, 2024, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was inducted with Toby Keith and guitarist James Burton, and Hall of Fame member Bobby Braddock presented his medallion. Shawn Camp, the Del McCoury Band and Lucinda Williams each performed one of his songs.
His Health Problems
In a 2022 interview with CBS News, Anderson said severe headaches started in 2016 and that he lost his hearing “almost completely.”
“They never really figured out just what it was,” he said.
He returned to music with the 2020 album “Years,” CBS News reported. In 1983, “Swingin’” went to No. 1 and won the CMA’s Single of the Year. Here are his best-known songs.
His family’s statement began, “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and best friend.”
