Appalachian Figures Series – The Story of Randall Massengill of Claiborne, Tennessee
Some Appalachian lives do not divide neatly into one calling. Charles Randall Massengill of New Tazewell, Tennessee, was remembered as a Tennessee Highway Patrol sergeant, a crash reconstructionist, a husband and father, a churchman, a guitar player, a songwriter, and one of those bluegrass voices that people carried with them long after the song ended. He lived from August 24, 1972, to January 20, 2022, and the surviving records show a man whose public life moved between two kinds of truth telling: the evidence left on a roadway and the feeling carried in a song.
New Tazewell, Family, and Faith
The obituary published through Claiborne-Overholt Funeral Home identifies him as Sgt. Charles Randall Massengill, age forty nine, of New Tazewell. It records that he died at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center with his family and fellow troopers by his side. It also places him inside the religious life of the area, noting that he was a member of River View Baptist Church and attended North Side Baptist Church. His family included his wife, Shannon Massengill, his children Levi Massengill, Luke Massengill, Brooke Mullins, Amber Mullins, and Derek Mullins, and his parents, Charles and Phyllis Massengill.
In the mountains, a life is often measured not only by occupation, but by who stood with you at the end and who carried you home. Massengill’s funeral arrangements were set for Midway Baptist Church in New Tazewell, with burial at England Cemetery in Tazewell. The obituary named members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol as pallbearers, a small detail that says much about how closely his work family and home community were tied together.
The Badge and the Critical Incident Response Team
Massengill served twenty years with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and was a sergeant over the Critical Incident Response Team, often called CIRT. After his death, the Tennessee Highway Patrol described him as a respected trooper who served the state with dignity and credited his crash reconstruction work with helping families seek justice. The American Association of State Troopers likewise reported that Sgt. Randall Massengill oversaw the Knoxville district’s CIRT and died after an off duty medical episode.
Crash reconstruction is not ordinary police work. It begins after the sirens, after the glass has scattered, after the road is marked with paint and the families are waiting for answers. In that work, measurements matter. Tire marks matter. Angles, debris, vehicle damage, and roadway evidence become part of a record that may later be tested in court. The surviving appellate opinions involving Massengill show that his role was not ceremonial. He was trusted to turn physical evidence into testimony.
Roadway Evidence and Courtroom Testimony
One of the strongest records of Massengill’s professional work appears in the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals opinion in State of Tennessee v. Thomas McLaughlin. In that case, the court identified him as THP Sergeant Charles Randall Massengill, a CIRT crash reconstructionist. The trial court accepted him as an expert in crash reconstruction, and he testified about returning to the crash scene, measuring the roadway, preparing a scale diagram, identifying an area of impact, and interpreting tire marks and vehicle movement.
The opinion states that Massengill determined the crash occurred in the victim’s lane and identified a fifty one foot tire mark from the defendant’s vehicle inside that lane before impact. He testified that the tire mark indicated partial braking and an attempt to return to the proper lane. His reconstruction testimony rejected the defendant’s version of the crash and concluded that the defendant’s failure to maintain the proper lane, along with probable speeding and possible drug impairment, was the primary contributor to the victim’s death.
Another strong record appears in State of Tennessee v. Timothy DeWayne Pinion. By the time that case reached trial, Massengill had died. The opinion records that THP CIRT Lieutenant Justin Boyd testified as an expert in crash reconstruction and explained that Sgt. Charles Massengill had compiled the reconstruction report before his death. Boyd said he had been Massengill’s supervisor and had reviewed and approved the report in May 2021. Massengill had photographed vehicles, mapped the crash site with a Leica TS16 Robotic Total Station, and documented roadway evidence that was later discussed in court.
That second case shows something important about his work. Even after his death, the record he built remained part of a legal proceeding. In mountain communities where fatal wrecks often happen on two lane roads, hills, curves, and narrow shoulders, that kind of reconstruction can become one of the only ways a family, a jury, and a court can understand what happened.
A Bluegrass Voice From Claiborne County
Outside the courtroom and patrol work, Randall Massengill belonged to the music of East Tennessee. Bluegrass Today described him as a beloved bluegrass musician and singer from New Tazewell, as well as a Tennessee State Trooper. The same remembrance connected him with Blue Moon Rising, New Road, and Brand New Strings, and described his high lead and tenor vocals, rhythm guitar work, and songwriting.
Those who played with him remembered more than skill. Stuart Wyrick, who played with him in New Road and Brand New Strings, recalled first meeting him around 1993 and said New Road formed in 1995, with Massengill as one of the original members. Bluegrass Today also recorded that Massengill wrote “God Sees Me,” a New Road song remembered by fellow musicians as one of the group’s most requested numbers.
Chris West of Blue Moon Rising remembered meeting Massengill when they were both young at the Oasis Pizza Parlor in Harrogate, Tennessee. That memory places Massengill’s musical life in the everyday geography of Claiborne County and the Cumberland Gap region: New Tazewell, Tazewell, Harrogate, church singings, festival roads, and late night picking sessions far from home.
Blue Moon Rising and the Road Beyond Home
Massengill’s name appears in the recorded history of Blue Moon Rising. Lonesome Day Records lists Randall Massengill on guitar in the lineup for On the Rise, the 2005 Blue Moon Rising album released on Lonesome Day Records. The label’s album page describes On the Rise as a thirteen track collection and notes that it brought the East Tennessee bluegrass band wider attention, including a Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums chart debut at number fourteen.
His connection to Blue Moon Rising continued later. Mountain Fever Records credited Randall Massengill with harmony vocals on After All This Time and also identified him as playing guitar with the band. The label described Blue Moon Rising as a group with nearly twenty years in business and songs that had charted on Billboard, Bluegrass Today, Bluegrass Unlimited, and The Roots Music Report.
Brand New Strings
Massengill also helped shape Brand New Strings. Bluegrass Today reported that the band’s first CD, No Strings Attached, was released on Rural Rhythm in February 2010 and consisted largely of original material written by Randall Massengill and Mike Ramsey. The article identifies Massengill on guitar, Ramsey on mandolin, Stuart Wyrick on banjo, Matt Leadbetter on resonator guitar, and Tim Tipton on bass. It also notes that Massengill and Tipton had both worked with Blue Moon Rising, while Ramsey and Wyrick had spent time with the gospel bluegrass group New Road.
Later that year, Bluegrass Today covered Brand New Strings at the IBMA Artist Showcase and described the group as a relatively new band formed in 2008, with Randall Massengill on guitar. The article placed the band firmly in the Bill Monroe bluegrass tradition, with strong harmony work and hard driving instrumentation.
The group’s second project, Stay Tuned, continued that pattern. Bluegrass Today reported in 2012 that the album featured material from band members including Randall Massengill, and that “Other Side of Lonesome,” written by Massengill, had reached the number four slot on the Bluegrass Today Weekly Airplay Chart. AllMusic credits Massengill on Stay Tuned as composer, guitar player, tenor vocalist, and vocalist, and lists “Other Side of Lonesome” and “The Guitar” among tracks connected to him.
Just Off the Wilderness Road
Massengill’s music was not only part of commercial bluegrass recordings. It also appeared in a local heritage context. In December 2020, Claiborne County considered Resolution No. 2020-109, a resolution supporting local musicians of the Cumberland Gap region. The resolution stated that Claiborne County had a long musical tradition and that music was part of the county’s identity. It supported the project Just Off the Wilderness Road: Songs of the Cumberland Gap Region, which was meant to include twelve Claiborne County musicians.
A letter from Between the Trees Music, included in the county packet, described the project as a collection of original songs about the people, places, and events of the region, performed by people from the region. On the next page, the list of Claiborne County musicians included Randall Massengill. That county record places him inside a broader effort to preserve and promote the musical memory of the Cumberland Gap area.
The Day the News Came Home
When Massengill died on January 20, 2022, the news traveled through two communities at once. Law enforcement agencies remembered a trooper whose reconstruction work helped families. Bluegrass musicians remembered a singer, guitarist, songwriter, bandmate, and friend. Bluegrass Today gathered memories from friends and fellow musicians who spoke of his humor, faith, guitar playing, voice, and loyalty to the people around him.
That dual remembrance is what makes his story fit Claiborne County history. Massengill was not only one thing. He was part of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, but also part of the bluegrass circuit. He worked fatal crash scenes, but he also stood on stages and sang harmony. He belonged to court records, label credits, county resolutions, church obituaries, and the private memory of people who rode roads with him, played music with him, or waited for answers after a wreck.
A Note on the Name
There is one important caution for researchers. The man discussed here is Sgt. Charles Randall Massengill of New Tazewell, born August 24, 1972, died January 20, 2022. Claiborne-Overholt Funeral Home also has an obituary for a different Randall “Randy” Massengill of Tazewell, born February 25, 1969, died September 27, 2024. Because both men used similar names and had Claiborne County connections, future researchers should keep the records separate.
Remembering Randall Massengill
The strongest records of Randall Massengill’s life do not come from one place. They come from a funeral home obituary, appellate court opinions, Tennessee Highway Patrol statements, bluegrass journalism, record label credits, and a Claiborne County government packet. Taken together, they show a man who served the public in one of the most difficult branches of highway patrol work and who also helped carry East Tennessee bluegrass beyond the mountains.
In the end, his legacy rests in two kinds of evidence. One is the hard evidence of the road: tire marks, diagrams, photographs, and courtroom testimony. The other is the living evidence of music: songs, harmonies, guitar runs, old friends, and memories that still move through Claiborne County and the Cumberland Gap region. For Sgt. Randall Massengill, both mattered.
Sources & Further Reading
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. State of Tennessee v. Thomas McLaughlin, No. E2020-01434-CCA-R3-CD. Knoxville: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, August 31, 2021. https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/state_of_tennessee_v._thomas_mclaughlin.pdf
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. State of Tennessee v. Timothy DeWayne Pinion, No. E2023-01020-CCA-R3-CD. Knoxville: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, September 25, 2024. https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/OpinionsPDFVersion/Majority%20Opinion%20-%202024-09-25%20-%20State%20of%20Tennessee%20v.%20Timothy%20DeWayne%20Pinion%20-%20E2023-01020-CCA-R3-CD.pdf
Claiborne-Overholt Funeral Home. “Charles Randall Massengill Obituary.” Accessed July 9, 2026. https://www.claibornefuneralhome.com/obituaries/Charles-Randall-Massengill?obId=27298312
Legacy.com. “Charles Randall Massengill Obituary.” Published January 22, 2022. Accessed July 9, 2026. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/charles-massengill-obituary?id=32354687
Whittington, Jordan. “Tennessee Highway Patrol Mourns Loss of Beloved Sergeant.” Fox 17 WZTV, January 21, 2022. https://fox17.com/news/local/tennessee-highway-patrol-mourns-loss-of-beloved-sergeant
Hill, Paige. “Arrangements Set for Tennessee Highway Patrol Sergeant’s Funeral Service.” WVLT, January 23, 2022. https://www.wvlt.tv/2022/01/23/arrangements-set-tennessee-highway-patrol-sergeants-funeral-service/
American Association of State Troopers. “TN Sergeant Dies.” January 23, 2022. https://www.statetroopers.org/blog/1564-tn-sergeant-dies
Tennessee Highway Patrol. “Sgt. Randall Massengill of Our Critical Incident Response Team Died on 1/20/22.” Facebook, January 21, 2022. https://www.facebook.com/TennesseeHighwayPatrol/photos/sgt-randall-massengill-of-our-critical-incident-response-team-died-on-12022-afte/303186078511268/
Hatley, Sandy. “Randall Massengill Passes.” Bluegrass Today, January 24, 2022. https://bluegrasstoday.com/randall-massengill-passes/
Lawless, John. “Brand New Strings: No Strings Attached.” Bluegrass Today, February 18, 2010. https://bluegrasstoday.com/brand-new-strings-no-strings-attached/
Lawless, John. “Brand New Strings Firmly in the Tradition.” Bluegrass Today, October 1, 2010. https://bluegrasstoday.com/brand-new-strings-firmly-in-the-tradition/
Bluegrass Today. “Randall Massengill Injured on the Job.” June 27, 2012. https://bluegrasstoday.com/randall-massengill-injured-on-the-job/
Bluegrass Today. “Stay Tuned: Brand New Strings.” January 13, 2012. https://bluegrasstoday.com/stay-tuned-brand-new-strings/
Bluegrass Today. “Blue Moon Rising Reunion Band.” March 5, 2015. https://bluegrasstoday.com/blue-moon-rising-reunion-band/
Lonesome Day Records. “On the Rise by Blue Moon Rising.” Accessed July 9, 2026. https://lonesomeday.com/album-view.php?target=15
Mountain Fever Music Group. “Blue Moon Rising: After All This Time.” Accessed July 9, 2026. https://mountainfever.com/blue-moon-rising-after-all-this-time/
The Bluegrass Special. “Brand New Strings: No Strings Attached Review.” March 2010. https://www.thebluegrassspecial.com/archive/2010/march10/brand-new-strings-no-strings-attached.html
Lonesome Road Review. “‘No Strings Attached’ by Brand New Strings.” March 14, 2010. https://lonesomeroadreview.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/no-strings-attached-by-brand-new-strings/
BluegrassBios.com. “Brand New Strings.” Accessed July 9, 2026. https://bluegrassbios.com/brand-new-strings/
Discogs. “Blue Moon Rising: On the Rise.” Accessed July 9, 2026. https://www.discogs.com/release/12414047-Blue-Moon-Rising-On-The-Rise
Find a Grave. “SGT Charles Randall Massengill.” Memorial ID 236131573. Accessed July 9, 2026. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/236131573/charles_randall-massengill
Claiborne County, Tennessee. “December 2020 New Business Packet, Resolution No. 2020-109, Just Off the Wilderness Road.” December 2020. https://claibornecountytn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DEC-20-NEW-BUSINESS.pdf
Claiborne Progress. “Remembering Trooper Massengill.” February 11, 2023. https://claiborneprogress.net/2023/02/11/ill-never-forget-remembering-trooper-massengill/
Author Note: This article uses court records, funeral records, law enforcement statements, music-industry sources, and bluegrass journalism to separate Sgt. Charles Randall Massengill from similarly named Claiborne County men. His story matters because it shows how one Appalachian life can belong equally to public service, faith, family, and mountain music.