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.
Along with being a beat writer, Richard Fariña was a folk singer-songwriter who performed and recorded with second wife, 
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.
At the time of his death of a heart attack in 1999, Darrell Sweet was co-founder and drummer for the Scottish hard rock band, Nazareth. By the 1975 release of Hair Of The Dog, Nazareth were bona fide international superstars. And as if the title track weren’t great enough, Hair Of The Dog also begat rock’s definitive version of “Love Hurts,” perhaps the greatest power ballad of its generation. On April 30, 1999, Darrell Sweet died of a heart attack he suffered at the New Albany Amphitheater where the band was scheduled to perform later that evening. He was 51.