Johnny spent a short time living here in Waco while he was attending Baylor University, it is a pretty good bet that he spent some time fishing along this river while he was here. He got the nickname of "The Singing Fisherman" because of his frequent stops to fish while he was on tour, the fishing breaks were even part of his contract with the record company.
Johnny had strong premonitions of being killed by a drunk and he took extraordinary measures to avoid that end, but, sadly, on November 4, 1960, while on his way to his home in Shreveport after doing a show down in Austin, on highway 79 in Milano, his vehicle was struck head on by a drunk driver. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital in Caldwell.
If you are ever passing through Milano, there is a cache named "The Singing Fisherman" that is placed on highway 79 near where his fatal crash occurred.
At least his music still lives on.