Died On This Date (May 1, 2008) Jim Hager / Hee Haw’s Hager Twins
themusicsover Jim Hager
August 30, 1941 – May 1, 2008
Jim Hager was a country singer and comedian who performed with his twin brother, Jon Hager as the Hager Twins on the TV show, Hee Haw. The brothers were born in Chicago, but moved to Los Angeles where they performed in support of Steve Martin, the Carpenters and Kenny Rogers. They were also regular performers at Disneyland which is where Buck Owens discovered them and offered them a contract. In 1969, the Hager Twins began a 17-year run on Hee Haw. Signed to Capitol Records at the time, the Hagers had a handful of country hits. Jim Hager passed away of a heart attack on May 1, 2008.
Will Owsley was a respected singer-songwriter, producer and musician who is best remembered as Amy Grant’s touring guitarist for more than 15 years. Over the course of his career, he also worked with Shania Twain, the Neville Brothers, Faith Hill and Wynonna Judd. Owsley also released a handful of albums under his own name, including 1999’s Owsley, which earned him a Grammy nomination for its engineering. During the early ’90s, he formed the power pop band, the Semantics with Zak Starkey and Millard Powers. Will Owsley died on April 30, 2010 of an apparent suicide.
Vern Gosdin was nicknamed “The Voice” for a reason. He had one of the most beautifully soulful singing voices in all of country music, and if honky-tonk had a Mount Rushmore, Vern Gosdin would likely sit alongside George Jones, Merle Haggard, 
Born in Dallas, Texas, B.W. Stevenson was singer-songwriter of country pop songs. He had one big hit, 1973’s “My Maria,” which reached #9 on the Billboard pop singles chart. The song became a #1 country hit for Brook & Dunn in 1996. Stevenson died while undergoing heart valve surgery on April 28, 1988. He was 38.
Along with her husband