Jimmy Stoneman, who played bass and sang with The Stoneman Family country music band, died Sunday at a nursing home. He was 65. Stoneman died from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as Lou Gehrig's disease, family members said.

The Stoneman Family was formed by Jimmy Stoneman's father Ernest "Pop" Stoneman in the late 1940s. The group won the "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" network television talent competition in 1956, and was voted best vocal group by the Country Music Association in 1967.

The group had hits with "The Five Little Johnson Girls" and "Tupelo County Jail" in the mid-1960s.

Jimmy Stoneman's bass playing "is what kept the family's feet jumping," said sister Patsy Stoneman, also a member of the family band.

"He didn't just stand and play; he rode that thing," she said. "He was going to town on it."

The group became mostly inactive in the 1980s. Roni Stoneman, who was featured in the "Hee Haw" television show, continues performing as a solo act.