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Notes: 1. Click on ANY TEXT in BLUE ... it is a link to a SONG, VIDEO, PHOTO or INFO 2. Click on each photo to enlarge unless otherwise noted 3. If a video does not load, try refreshing the page
Dottie West Car Crash continued: star Kenny Rogers ... in 1978 their duet When Two Worlds Collide became Dottie’s first #1 ... four of the songs reached the top 10. In 1980 A Lesson in Leavin’ became her first solo #1. Mind you, by then she had been decades into her career. I must admit, I prefer other songs than her signature ones ... songs such as, Take Me As I Am 1965, The Hands You're Holding Now 1965 and Let Me Off At The Corner 1963. Dottie did a number of successful duets with artists other than Kenny Rogers ... Yours Love with Jimmy Dean in 1970 and Sweet Memories with Steve Wariner in 1973 are excellent examples. Throughout the 1980s Dottie continued touring; however, as the calendar reached 1990, Dottie’s excessive spending found her falling on hard times and a career on a downward spiral. As she was planning her comeback in 1991, disaster struck...
Stars Who Died In Tragic Accidents [TA] Continued
By August 30, 1991, Dottie had been experiencing a downward spiral ... she lost all her possessions at an IRS auction ... she was financially strapped. Her friend star singer Kenny Rogers bought her a Chrysler New Yorker to get around in as well as provided her a big break by lining up a return gig at the Grand Ole Opry. On her way to that critically important show the car broke down. Dottie’s 81-year-old neighbor, George Thackston, saw her on the side of the road ... he offered to give her a lift to the Opry for the show. Knowing she was running late, Dottie apparently urged George to speed ... he lost control of his vehicle on the Opryland ramp and went airborne. The car crashed into the concrete divider when exiting the freeway. Responding officers did not feel Dottie was seriously injured nor did Dottie ... in fact, she asked emergency personnel to treat George first. As mentioned, Dottie did not seem to be injured ... she was ... she had both a ruptured spleen and a lacerated liver. Several lifesaving measures were attempted over the next handful of days ... Dottie died on September 4, 1991. Kenny Rogers was the last to visit her prior to the operation during which she died.
The Accident
Mini Bio: Don Rich aka Donald Eugene Ulrich, who was adopted, was an accomplished guitarist and fiddler ... both of which he began at age 3. In 1957, at 16, Don had the unique privilege of opening for Elvis. Like most professionals in the music business, Don tried various musical genres and venues in the early years. In 1958 Don was performing at a local restaurant/club in Tacoma Washington At the time, Buck Owens was living in Tacoma while working as a DJ at KAYE radio ... one night he decided to go to the restaurant/club to listen to this guy he heard about. Soon thereafter the two appeared together at the weekly BAR-K Jamboree on KTNT-TV 11. Oops, Buck all of a sudden had a #4 hit with Under The Spell Again. With that success, Buck returned to Bakersville to record for Capitol ... of course, he asked Don to go with him ...
George Thackston was charged with Reckless Endangerment, got 11 months’ probation and was ordered to complete an Alcohol Treatment Program.
Don Rich
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Don Rich <> August 15, 1941 – July 17, 1974 <> Motorcycle Accident
