Dean, an entrepreneur famous for his eponymous sausage brand, also a Hall of Fame country-music singer, died Sunday. Dean — who first gained fame for his 1961 country hit “Big Bad John” — eventually became better known for his sausage business, which he started in 1969 and sold to Sara Lee in 1984, though he stayed on as spokesman of the company until 2003. Dean’s company was responsible for many breakfast-meat “innovations,” such as the marvelous “Pancakes & Sausage on a Stick.”
