The History of Fancy Free
When I first stepped foot on this property it was 1983 and I was just a little girl. My uncle, Jimbeau Hinson, was an award-winning songwriter and manager of The Oak Ridge Boys publishing company. He and his wife took the royalties from his #1 hit Fancy Free by The Oak Ridge Boys and bought the little 1930’s bungalow that was originally on this property and turned it into my favorite place on earth.
Fast forward to 2018 and my husband and I bought the property and built our very own dream home and it is still my favorite place on earth!
This place is filled with country music memories from all of the stars and extremely talented writers that stayed a many a night right here. Walk through the house and you will see gold and platinum albums that tell a little bit of the history.
If you are looking for an amazing Nashville experience, this is the place for you. We are located right in the middle of everything but with the beautiful wooded lot you feel far away from it all. Only one mile from the world-famous Bluebird Cafe and a couple of miles to Broadway, this is the perfect vacation spot.
Country Music History
Here is a little more history about this place and the tie to country music.
When my uncle was 14 years old, my grandparents took him to see Loretta Lynn play in Meridian, MS. My grandfather, a mechanic and my grandmother, a truckstop waitress, somehow talked their way backstage and introduced their son to the country music legend.
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My uncle sang for her and she was so impressed that she introduced him to The Wilburn Brothers and he began touring with them.
At 15 he had signed his first record deal and by 18 was the youngest at the time to win an ASCAP award. He went on to write four songs for Brenda Lee including her hit Broken Trust.
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On a trip back home to visit, my grandfather poured his heart out to Uncle Jimbeau and told him that Mee-maw had left him. In the car driving down the highway, he said nearly word-for-word the lyrics that were soon to become my uncle's first number #1 hit.
My grandmother's name was Francis. He originally wrote the song Settin' Francis Free but found that was a bit too difficult to say, so he changed it to Fancy.
In 1981 the Oak Ridge Boys recorded the song and it quickly became a number one single. The song later became one of the most requested songs by the Oaks and has had over 2,100,000 copies sold.
