50 Years Ago: The Tragic Death of Don Rich


It’s often the songwriters and side players who never get their fair share of credit for their contributions to music. But if there was one side player who most every country music knew during his era, and who was as seminal to the style and sound of country as any primary singer, it was Don Rich. To put it plainly, Don Rich was the most important side player in the history of country music, and country music would sound significantly different if it wasn’t for Don.

As the bandleader for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos—and later for the syndicated TV show Hee-Haw—it was the sound of Rich’s champagne flake Telecaster and his close harmonies with Buck that became the foundation for The Bakersfield Sound. This collaboration would result in twenty one #1 singles that dominated country music from 1963 until the end of the decade, and even got the attention of The Beatles. Buck Owens and Don Rich were one of the most important duos in the history of country music. But always selfless, Don remained the consummate side player and simply a member of Buck’s band for his career.

It all ended tragically though 50 years ago this week when on July 17th, 1974, the motorcycle Don Rich was riding hit a center divider on the Pacific Coast Highway 1 in California near Morro Bay. He lost control and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Don Rich was only 32 years old. Just like in life, the death of Don Rich would radically change country music as well.

Though it’s the hot and electric “freight train rhythm” flying off of Don Rich’s fretboard that defined The Bakersfield Sound, he actually started as a fiddle player. Born Donald Eugene Ulrich on August 15, 1941 in Olympia, Washington, Don started playing a tiny fiddle his father made for him when he was three years old. An adoptee, he grew up in a log cabin-style home where music was always around. At an early age, Rich was performing in talent contests and other events. He also picked up guitar, but fiddle was still his primary instrument.

It was in the capacity of a fiddle player that Buck Owens would eventually hire Don Rich at the age of 19. Don had formed a rock and roll band early on called the Blue Comets, and even opened for Elvis in Tacoma when he was only 16. It happened to be that native Texan Buck Owens was working in Tacoma at the radio station KAYE when he caught wind of Rich and his fiddle talents, and immediately knew he wanted to hire him for his band. The two started playing together as a duo.

When Buck’s song “Under Your Spell Again” hit #4 on the country charts, his career started heating up and he was called to Bakersfield to record some more. Buck wanted Don to come with him, But Rich chose to attend college instead. He’d last about a year before the allure of the music business had Rich Bakersfield bound too.

Don Rich was part of some very important moments that led to the success of Buck Owens and The Bakersfield Sound. For a few years, members of Buck’s backing band were quite fluid. Merle Haggard even had a stint in it, and is responsible for coining the name “The Buckaroos.” But Don Rich remained a constant, making it easier to plug in other players and keep touring. Through this relationship, Don Rich and Buck Owens didn’t just become bandmates. They became best friends, and eventually, as close as brothers.


It was Don Rich who convinced Buck that the song “Act Naturally” by Johnny Russell was a hit waiting to be recorded. Buck eventually did record it in early 1963, with Rich playing his first lead guitar part on a Buck Owens song. It would quickly become the first #1 for Buck Owens as well. When The Beatles heard the Buck Owens version, they became enamored with it and recorded it themselves. This sent the sound of Buck Owens, Don Rich, Bakersfield, and country music international.

For the next seven years, the country music world was dominated by Buck Owens, with Don’s close harmonies and guitar right there behind him. Everyone else in country music was just trying to squeeze a hit in between Buck Owens singles.

As Buck started experimenting with some different sounds and the appeal of the Bakersfield sound started to wane, the string of hits started to slow in the early ’70s, though Buck did hit #1 again in 1972 with “Made in Japan.” But in some respects, it didn’t matter if every Buck Owens songs went #1 for a second decade. He’d signed on with Hee-Haw in 1968 with The Buckaroos as the house band and Don Rich as bandleader, and their legacy in country music was already secured.

On July 17th, 1974, Don Rich had finished up working at Buck’s studio in Bakersfield, and started driving his motorcycle north to meet his family for a fishing trip. Nobody knows exactly what happened. There were no skid marks at the crash scene and no mechanical issues found with the motorcycle. As the story goes, Buck Owens plead with Don Rich to not ride his motorcycle that day, or to ride motorcycles at all, worried about the life of his bandmate and brother. Don Rich was pronounced dead at the hospital in San Luis Obispo at 10:55 pm, 50 minutes after the accident was reported.

It wasn’t just the end of Don Rich’s life. According to Buck Owens, it was the true end of his musical career. Owens said in an interview many years later, “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.”


Along with his work with Buck Owens, Don Rich was also a solo artist, and The Buckaroos with Don Rich in the lead had their own record deal. They recorded mostly instrumental tracks, but sometimes Don and other members would sing as well. At one point Don Rich recorded a whole album of him singing George Jones songs. It sat in a vault until 2013 when Omnivore released it. Omnivore also released a collection of Don Rich’s fiddle tunes in 2013 called That Fiddlin’ Man.

Along with his work with Buck Owens and The Buckaroos, Don Rich also released an album with Buddy Alan (the son of Buck Owens and Bonnie Owens) in 1971 called We’re Real Good Friends.

Don Rich really is a classic case of a legacy that has gone scandalously unheralded since he was primarily a sideman, had such a selfless approach to his own career, was so willing to cede the spotlight to Buck, and died so early in life. But every three years when the Country Music Hall of Fame chooses a musician for entry, Don Rich must be in the conversation.

There may have been more accomplished and prolific musicians, most of whom spend much of their career in studios. Tragedy cut the career of Don Rich short. But when you think of side players and lead guitarists that the fans beloved just as much as the frontman, Don Rich is the first that comes to mind.


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