Neshoba County native Marty Gamblin, a music industry veteran and founding executive director of the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience in Meridian, died on Wednesday, according to a Thursday post on The MAX social media page. He was 80.

“Our hearts are broken. Join us as we extend our deep-felt sympathies to the huge community of family and friends from Philadelphia, MS, to Nashville, TN and beyond, who are mourning the loss of Mary Gamblin,” according to The MAX Facebook post. “To know him was to love him. Rest in peace, our friend and fearless leader. You were instrumental in helping create and shape The MAX, and we will remain forever grateful while holding you and your family in our thoughts and prayers.”

Born in 1944 in Philadelphia, Gamblin began his long career in the music business booking bands while still in high school. During his more than 40 years in the industry, he worked closely with famed Mississippi songwriter and performer Jim Weatherly, who penned classics like “Midnight Train to Georgia,” “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” and “The Need to Be.”

From 1982 until 2002, Gamblin served as president of Glen Campbell’s publishing and management company, where he helped influence the careers of numerous musicians, including country music star Alan Jackson, according to the bio on his LinkedIn account.

In 2003, Gamblin returned home to Mississippi and worked for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and in 2010 became the executive director of the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience, working with design, content, marketing and fundraising to help launch the state-of-the-art museum. After The MAX opened in 2018, he continued to serve as a consultant for its Hall of Fame and Walk of Fame.

In 2006, Gamblin was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame, and he was honored in September 2019 with a marker on the Mississippi Country Music Trail, located at his alma mater, Philadelphia High School, on Byrd Avenue in Philadelphia. Beginning in 2019, he served as a consultant for Marty Stuart’s Congress for Country Music in Philadelphia.

“Marty Gamblin thank you for 30 years of the best advice, best laughter and the best hugs. I miss you already,” according to a Wednesday post on the Congress for Country Music Facebook page.