Died On This Date (April 30, 2010) Will Owsley / Respected Nashville Singer, Songwriter & Producer

Will Owsley
DOB Unknown – April 30, 2010

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.

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Died On This Date (September 25, 2007) Patrick Bourque / Emerson Drive

Patrick Bourque
September 27, 1977 – September 25, 2007

Patrick Bourque was best known as the one-time bassist for Canadian country band, Emerson Drive.  Finding moderate success as 12 Guage in and around Alberta, the band soon changed its name to Emerson Drive and moved to Nashville where they landed a deal with DreamWorks.  The band released a series of country hits and added Bourque to the band in 2002.  Within a couple of years they were opening for the likes of Shania Twain.  But in August of 2007, Bourque left the band for an undisclosed reason.  Just one month later, he was found dead in his Montreal home.  Initial reports indicated that he committed suicide.

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Countrified - Emerson Drive

Died On This Date (September 4, 1991) Dottie West / Country Music Icon

Dottie West
October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991

As one of contemporary country music’s first leading ladies, Dottie West opened the door for such female superstars as Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, Tammy Wynette, Shania Twain and Martina McBride.  One of West’s early hits, 1965’s “Here Comes My Baby Back Again,” won her a Best Female Country Grammy Award.  In the late ’70s, West teamed up with Kenny Rogers to release a string of pop-leaning country records that landed at the top of the charts and lead to platinum status of their duets albums.  By the time the ’90s hit, West was nearly broke due to bad investments, lavish spending and owed money to the IRS.  She began to mount a comeback in 1991 when tragedy hit.  While in transit to a Grand Ol Opry performance, the driver of the car in which she was a passenger lost control of the vehicle, causing it to go airborne and land in the center divider.  At first West didn’t seem to be badly injured, but in fact she sustained internal injuries that lead to her death on September 4, 1991 at the age of 58.

 

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RCA Country Legends: Dottie West - Dottie West