Brian Neil Duckworth, known to fans across the country circuit as "Nashville," has died at 56. His family confirmed the news in an obituary this week, saying he passed away at home in Clarksburg, West Virginia, on September 7. No cause of death has been shared.

Duckworth sang lead for Taylor Made Band, the family act he ran with brother Greg Duckworth and sister Wendy Williams. The trio built a following opening for names like Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley, and in 2013 MusicRow Magazine named them Independent Artist of the Year. That came a year after their single "Things You Don't Grow Out Of" pushed the band into wider view, back in 2012.

Here's the part that made him a local legend before he was ever a stage name. Duckworth never quit his day job. He drove a dump truck for a living, right through the years the band was booking fairs and festivals, and his family called him "the Truck Boss" in the obituary. They said the outdoor work suited him fine, that he was happiest with dirt under his boots and sky over his head.

The nickname "Nashville" came from somewhere simpler, according to the family. He apparently never turned down a chance to sing, wherever he was, whoever was listening. That habit stuck to him hard enough to become his name.

He's survived by his wife, Tina Scheuvront Duckworth, their six children, four grandchildren, and five siblings. The family obituary also mentioned his dogs, described as loyal companions who brought him comfort.

His niece, Brianna Duckworth Kazner, posted her own tribute online this week, and it's the kind of detail that tells you more about a person than any press release could. She wrote about growing up watching her dad, her aunt and her uncle perform at fairs, about eventually joining them on stage herself. She called him the person she'd phone whenever her own songwriting hit a wall, saying he "had such a way with song lyrics" that he always pulled her out of it.

She remembered him singing at her wedding, wearing her "Go Duck" T-shirt at a ribbon-cutting, and calling her recently with an idea for a new song. In her post she wrote that he told her, "Guess I should get to work on that," and signed off calling him "Uncle Bert," saying no amount of time singing together would ever have been enough.

Duckworth will be laid to rest on September 14 at Floral Hills Memorial Garden. Taylor Made Band has not said whether it will continue performing without him.