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"John considered Elvis more as a friend than as a boss," Ellison said. Even after suffering a stroke in 1989 that left him unable to play the guitar, Wilkinson continued singing with fellow musicians, including the old TCB Band (the acronym stood for Taking Care of Business), and also made a living in retail and airline services management. "He was honestly one of the best acoustic guitar players I'd ever heard," Ellison recalled, adding that Wilkinson kept in touch with many of the performers from the folk music era in the late 1960s and early
'70s. A statement from the family, released through Ellison, said Wilkinson also was proud of the fact that he never turned down a request for an autograph. "It didn't matter if he was meeting adoring fans, joking with Chuck Berry about keeping his B-string in tune, or if he was talking to a neighbor about her dog, people were people to him," the statement said. "Folks were folks. John would look you square in the eye and accept you, just as you were. There was nothing phony about him." He is survived by his wife, Terry. A private graveside service is planned.
[Associated
Press;
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