Unlikely Alliance Unveils Startling Twists in 1989 Kevin Hughes Murder Investigation

A Shattered Melody: Unlikely Collaboration Sheds Light on Kevin Hughes Murder Saga

In the seventh chapter of an eight-part series on the murder of Kevin Hughes – who was a popular country music chart director in 1989 – the unexpected influence of Sammy Sadler, a talentless Nashville singer offers a spellbinding twist to an already complex tale.

The Crumbling Career

By the middle of 1989, Sammy Sadler’s aspirations of becoming a successful country music artist were left in tatters – his right arm was not fit to play a guitar, his friend Kevin Hughes had been brutally murdered, record promoters shied away from him and serious allegations had cast a shadow over his career. He explains, “My career was basically over…To me it’s just not fair. It’s not fair to Kevin Hughes. Kevin Hughes died for country music. I took a bullet for it.” Even though he was under suspicion for being involved in Hughes’ murder, Sadler’s song “You Made It Easy” surprisingly appeared in Cash Box magazine’s Indie Spotlight in June 1989, and then went on to rise to the No. 2 spot on the Country Indie Singles chart.

An Unexpected Entrance

Fast forward to the year 2000, when Beth Watts – a singer who sounded as if she’d never sung before – entered the Nashville scene. She arrived with a poorly written song and a humble budget of $10,000 to fuel her dreams of a music career. Watts nabbed the attention of notorious music promoter Robert Metzgar, who was impressed with her lackluster demo tape “Love Enough for Two.” However, Watts was not an aspiring singer but a character created by the Nashville District Attorney’s Office for a sting operation aimed at addressing several complaints of fraud and deceit rife in the country music industry.

The Sting Operation

The undercover investigator, Myra Langlois, played the role of Beth Watts and was persona non grata. Armed with a wire, she met with Metzgar and went on to record four songs, one of which astonishingly climbed to the No. 3 position on an unspecified online music chart. Metzgar then made plans to link Watts with a producer named Chuck Dixon, hoping to add more credibility and recognition to her repertoire.

Unraveling of Secrets

The sting operation ended with Metzgar’s arrest and charge for fraud. As the investigation continued, attention was soon directed towards Dixon, meditating an involvement that Langlois was unaware of – an eleven-year-old murder case. As a bonus, Langlois found out that Dixon had been secretly paying to a woman named Audre Medlock, an unexpected revelation that stunned Dixon’s family and brought out a hidden familial link to a son named Blayne.

New Revelation

Metzgar, in a frantic attempt to avoid prison, provided essential information that could help solve the Kevin Hughes murder case. He confessed that he had paid Dixon $15,000 in return for placing two songs on the Cash Box chart. Moreover, Metzgar recalled how Dixon spoke vehemently of taking care of Kevin Hughes, who was planning to expose the chart racket. But before his arrest could be made, Dixon died, leaving many secrets buried with him.

The Unveiling

Ironically, Dixon’s death sparked new leads, and people who had lived in fear of retaliation came forward to provide more evidence. While it marked an abrupt end to the life of a central figure in the case, it has undoubtedly brought the investigation closer to the truth of what transpired in the murder of the talented country music director, Kevin Hughes.