Satan's jeweled Crown is a song written by Edgar Edens and originally released by The Louvin Brothers on their 1959 album Satan Is Real. The Louvin Brothers were an American musical duo composed of brothers Ira and Charlie Louvin (Lonnie Loudermilk (April 21, 1924 – June 20, 1965) and Charlie Elzer Loudermilk (July 7, 1927– January 26, 2011). The brothers wrote and performed secular country music, as well as fire-and-brimstone gospel music. Ira played virtuoso mandolin and generally sang lead vocal in the tenor range, while Charlie played rhythm guitar and offered supporting vocals in a lower pitch. They helped popularize the vocal technique of close harmony in country and country-rock. After becoming regulars at the Grand Ole Opry and scoring a string of hit singles in the late 1950s and early '60s, the Louvin Brothers broke up in 1963 due in large part to Charlie growing tired of Ira's addictions and reckless behavior. The brothers adopted the name Louvin Brothers in the 1940s as they began their career in gospel music. Their first foray into secular music was the minor hit "
The Get Acquainted Waltz", recorded with Chet Atkins. Other hits included "
Cash on the Barrelhead" and "
When I Stop Dreaming". They joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1955 and stayed there until breaking up in 1963. Their songs were heavily influenced by their Baptist faith and warned against sin. Nevertheless, Ira Louvin was notorious for his drinking, womanizing, and volcanic temper. He was married four times; his third wife Faye shot him four times in the chest and twice in the hand after he allegedly tried to strangle her with a telephone cord Although seriously injured, he survived. (Faye is reported to have said, "if the bastard don't die I'll shoot him again!"). When performing and drinking, Ira would sometimes become angry enough on stage to smash his mandolin when he was unable to tune it, and - when sober - glue it back together. His style was heavily influenced by Bill Monroe, and his brother Charlie Monroe, who had a tempestuous relationship with Ira, considered him one of the top mandolin players in Nashville. In 1963, fed up with Ira's drinking and abusive behavior, Charlie started a solo career, and Ira also went on his own.Ira died on June 20, 1965, at the age of 41. He and his fourth wife, Anne Young died in a car accident. Although the brothers are still remembered today for their musical talent, they are also remembered for the unusual cover used for their 1959 album, Satan Is Real. Designed by Ira Louvin, the cover features the brothers standing in a rock quarry in front of a 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) plywood rendition of the Devil as several hidden tires soaked in kerosene burn behind them as fire and brimstone. Some reviewers count this as being one of the "greatest iconic album covers of all time". The opening bars of the album's title track "
Satan Is Real" can be heard at the beginning of Hank Williams III's "Medley:
Straight to Hell / Satan Is Real", on his Straight to Hell album of 2006.