Larry Edward Shell

Larry Shell could’ve – probably should’ve – written his own eulogy. Because he was a hell of a storyteller and knew how to hold a room. Our beloved father, friend, gifted musician, raconteur, songwriter, philosopher and all-around hilarious human being left the building in the early morning hours of June 17, 2026, at a hospice in Rock Springs, Georgia, with his two cherished daughters, Jessica and Sarah, at his bedside. There won’t be another.

Larry Edward Shell was born on December 1, 1948, in Brewton, Alabama.  He moved with his mother and father, Gracie and Willis Shell, in 1955 at the age of seven to the then-sleepy fishing village of Niceville in Panhandle Florida on the Choctawhatchee Bay, where he spent an idyllic childhood.  Little Larry Shell was known to his mama and daddy simply as “Bud". Larry referred to himself and other Niceville locals as “fishheads.”  His parents owned and operated The Niceville Food Store for several decades. Willis Shell served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

Fishing on Boggy Bayou in Niceville was a great love and big part of Larry’s childhood, and later, retirement. He was very, very good at it.  Like any competent fishhead, Larry knew what lures to use and where to use them.  And though he caught an unbelievable lot of fish in his day, he hated cleaning them.  So, he usually gave them away or threw them back. In 1971, Larry married Shannon Keating, a military brat whose father was a commanding officer at nearby Eglin Air Force Base.

Larry found work as a park ranger at Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park. In 1976, the couple moved from Florida to Nashville to chase Larry’s dream of being a songwriter and sessions musician.  Larry remembered, “I told Shannon, ‘Give me five years to see if I can make this work. If I can’t do it in five years, we’ll move back to Niceville'".  The couple stayed in Nashville for the next 40 years.

In 1981, Larry wrote his first big hit, “With You", recorded by Charly McClain. The song reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Other fine songs Larry wrote included a song for his father titled, “Daddy was a Navy Man” and one for his mother titled “Mama Don’t Forget to Pray for Me”, (Larry Cordle co-writing) recorded in 1991 by Diamond Rio.  The latter, Larry’s favorite, peaked at number 9 in both the United States and Canada. The musicians who loved (and cut) Larry Shell’s songs are in the one-name stratosphere: Willie, Merle, Reba, Alan, George.  Others included Alabama, Mel Tillis, Rex Allen Jr., Christy Lane, and Melba Montgomery. Musically, Larry was old-school. He grew up listening to the likes of Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Bill Monroe, the Delmore Brothers, and Ralph Stanley. No surprise then that in 1999 Larry and his lifelong buddy, bluegrass legend Larry Cordle, jointly penned “Murder on Music Row”, an anthem that longed for traditional old-time country music with fiddles and steel guitars. The song was an upraised middle finger at the pop influence and corruption of the country music business in Nashville in the 90s. “Murder” struck a chord.  It was recorded and released as a duet by Alan Jackson and George Strait.  And even though it was not released as a single because of its controversial content, it reached number 38 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart. In 2001 “Murder” was named Song of the Year at the CMA awards.  Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time’s original version of “Murder” was awarded the Song of the Year award at the 2000 International Bluegrass Music Awards. 

As a young man, Larry was in the same dressing room with Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1986 when the late guitarist learned his own father had died. Larry remembered that Mr. Vaughn responded to questions about whether he would still play with the phrase, “The show must go on”. Turning to Larry, the late, great Stevie Ray asked the young man if he agreed. “Absolutely” Larry said. Larry had a laugh you could not forget.  When he got truly tickled, It ascended into a girlish falsetto. That laugh itself was a personality.

Larry’s four granddaughters called him “Bahcoo”, a nickname derived from his eldest granddaughter’s mispronunciation as a toddler of the word, “grandpa”. He embraced the nickname, insisted that all of his granddaughters call him “Bahcoo”.

On the day he died, Larry’s family gathered and listened to voicemails he had left each of them over the years. Some of these little recorded treasures are five minutes long.  They are funny, beautiful vignettes in the life of a retired poet-philosopher.  They all end with one shining message: “I love you; I love you; I love you”.

When Larry learned only last week that he suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS, he remembered a family friend and mentor in Niceville who had been diagnosed with cancer when Larry was a boy. This man had given Larry his first guitar, a pre-war Martin O-18.  Larry remembered cancerous lumps like golf balls all over the man’s back. Young Larry asked him, “what are you going to do?”  The friend answered, “Take it like a man.”

Larry Edward Shell showed us how to love family. He showed us how to be interested in the stories and trials of our fellow travelers in life. He showed us how to chase dreams and see them realized. He showed us how to stay real in a business full of bullshit artists and millionaires. He showed us how to laugh at yourself to the point of wheezing.  He showed us how to meet triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same.  He showed us how to confront illness and death itself with Christian serenity. Larry, you took it like a man.

Larry Edward Shell leaves behind many fishing buddies and musical friends; his daughters, Jessica Hawkins (Travis), of Chattanooga, Tennessee; Sarah Wallin (Kris), of Ojai, California; granddaughters, Willa Hawkins, Simone Hawkins, Della Wallin, and Teddy Wallin; ex-wife, Shannon Shell of Nashville, Tennessee; and nephew, Nik Dudley, of Niceville, Florida. Gone on before him are his sister, Shelia Dudley of Niceville; and parents, Willis and Gracie Shell.

Private services will be held Wednesday in DeFuniak Springs, Florida.  A celebration of life will follow at Nick’s Restaurant in Freeport, Florida.  Services to be conducted by Pastor Doug Fannon.