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Don Rich Motorcycle Crash continued: Don refused, deciding to return to college as well as his girlfriend. A year later, he and soon-to-be wife Marlane, who reigned as Queen of the Morton Loggers Festival, joined Buck in Bakersville. Their first release Above and Beyond reached #3. Like most of the others, Buck and Don hit the road doing gigs at bars and dance halls using whichever musicians he and Don could come up with. By 1964 Buck decided to put together his own band ... Don was the Band Leader. Side note ... Merle Haggard was part of the band at one time ... he dubbed the band The Buckaroos. In 1963 Johnny Russell pitched Act Naturally to Buck ... he did not like it, Don Rich did ... he convinced Buck to record it ... it was Buck’s first #1 and stayed there for four weeks. Next, Love’s Gonna Live Here reached # 1 and stayed for 16 weeks. In 1968 along came Hee Haw ... Buck and Roy Clark were the stars and Don Rich was the Musical Director. It must be noted that Don had some success as a solo artist while working with Buck. For example, People Like You in 1967, Out of My Mind in 1968 and an excellent cover of Orange Blossom Special in 1970 ... I’m Layin’ It On The Line was a song Don and Buck sang regularly on shows back in the day but it was not released on an album until 2000.
Stars Who Died In Tragic Accidents [TA] Continued
As mentioned earlier, Don and Buck Owens were best friends as well as musical partners. On July 17, 1974, after finishing work with Buck at Buck’s Bakersfield, California studio, against Buck’s wishes, Don hopped on his Motorcycle to join his family already vacationing on the central coast of California. Unfortunately, 138 miles later California Highway Patrol Officers were investigating his motorcycle crash in Morro Bay, California. For reasons officers could not determine, Don ran his motorcycle into the center divider on northbound Highway 1. There were no skid marks nor were there any mechanical problems with the motorcycle. Could he have fallen asleep? Buck had been pleading with Don for years to quit riding the motorcycle.
Suffice it to say, the somewhat chance meeting of Don Rich and Buck Owens in 1958 led to an amazing lifelong friendship until disaster struck in 1974. For this note I decided to do something I never do, use a direct quote. Buck was devastated by Rich's death and did not discuss it in interviews for years. In a late-1990s interview, Owens said, "He was like a brother, a son, and a best friend. Something I never said before, maybe I couldn't, but I think my music life ended when he died. Oh yeah, I carried on and I existed, but the real joy and love, the real lightning and thunder is gone forever." ... wow...
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The Accident
Mini Bio: Laura was the founder of the original Dixie Chicks ... she left the group after three albums and before Natalie Maines joined the group. After Miss Maines joined the Dixie Chicks, they became political antagonists now called The Chicks ... we bailed on them. Though I have no Dixie Chicks music per se I do have one song with Laura Lynch on lead in 1990 ... West Texas Wind, very nice.
As Christmas neared, 65-year-old Laura was still doing musical gigs as a solo act. At 5:45
Laura Lynch <> November 18, 1958 - December 22, 2023 <> Car Crash
Laura Lynch
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The Accident
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