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.
July 18, 2024 @ 8:03 am
Don Rich belongs in the Hall of Fame.
People heard a lot of their music on AM radio in those days. Those bright, twangy Telecasters came through the AM frequencies and made people think “Who is this?” and eventually “Here’s Buck!”
It’s said that no man is indispensable, but Don Rich proved that to be wrong.
July 18, 2024 @ 8:12 am
Great article, Trig. There is nothing like Buck and Don singing and playing together. Pure gold. It just captures your attention and make you feel good. Such a tragic ending to a beautiful partnership.
July 18, 2024 @ 9:22 am
I know you and Tyler Mahan Coe have had your issues (mostly because he can be kind of an asshole, a statement I don’t think he’d disagree with), but I want to say that his two-part on Buck Owens and Don Rich in the first season of C&R is really good. It introduced me to Buck Owens, who has become one of my favorites.
Also, I live in Tacoma, so Don Rich being a local guy makes me pretty proud.
July 18, 2024 @ 1:32 pm
The first season of Cocaine & Rhinestones is excellent, and I still recommend it to people. I wrote not one, but two articles trying to prop it up, only for Tyler to strangely turn around and stab me in the back. His arrogance has gotten the better of him, and the better of Season Two. I hope at some point he comes back down to earth.
July 18, 2024 @ 1:43 pm
It is worth checking out if for no other reason than to read the comments from one of Don’s sons talking about the motorcycle wreck.
The TL;DR is Don didn’t just have a motorcycle. He like many others after watching Easyrider was inspired buy/build a chopper. At the time chopper parts were made by small independent companies. The front wheel came apart on Don’s bike according to his son.
There were several brands and styles of vintage wheels that were popular on classic choppers that apparently have a habit of falling apart.
I love Cocaine and Rhinestones, I don’t really see the point in Your Favorite Band Sucks.
Thanks for keeping Don’s memory alive.
July 18, 2024 @ 2:29 pm
And of course, with most choppers having those long front forks, you have hardly any steering control. So if the front wheel came apart, Don didn’t have a chance.
July 18, 2024 @ 3:57 pm
To each his own, but riding any kind of motorcycle regularly in traffic is kind of nuts. (Of course, I’ve ridden bicycles on NYC sreets for most of my life, so I may be nuts, too.)
Buck Owens knew it, and apprently warned and tried to dissuade Don, repeatedly, but Don decided to take the risk.
July 18, 2024 @ 10:29 am
A great article and not overstate in any way. Good stuff.
July 18, 2024 @ 2:20 pm
How can Don not be in the Hall of Fame? He had a unique sound and technique that is unmistakable. I guess I haven’t paid enough attention to who is in and out of that group. I need to do some homework. It will likely make me angry.
July 18, 2024 @ 8:02 pm
They only elect a musician once every three years, and it tends to be Nashville session guys because they are well known to the voters there in Nashville. Since Don was a Bakersfield guy and died 50 years ago, he’s out of sight, out of mind. All the more reason to remind folks of his legacy whenever there is a good excuse. The 50th anniversary of his death is as good as any.
July 20, 2024 @ 5:26 am
Because the secret voters have no clue as to whom any of the people on the ballot are. This year John Anderson was at the top of the list in his category due to his last name starting with an “A” and they remembered him as the “sanger of Swingin!” Toby Keith was elected because of, well you know (and no disrespect to him at all, just disrespect to the electors intended). And in the category that Don Rich was more than likely a nominee, James Burton was elected. Basically they all did a confused shoulder-shrug when they looked at the Musician list until someone said “I think that guy played with Elvis” and they all said, Elvis! Hell Ya and filled in the blank box beside James Burton.
July 18, 2024 @ 5:07 pm
Don Rich was half the reason that Buck Owens’ career rose to such lofty heights. In addition to his great vocal & instrumental abilities Don was the ultimate diplomat. He served as the buffer between Buck and the members of the Buckaroos band. Buck could be moody and sometimes rather abrasive to the point of being cruel. Don worked tirelessly as the liaison to smooth things over and keep the band together.
Not to diminish Don’s legacy in any way, but many folks mistakenly assume that because Don sang harmony to Buck’s lead vocal on their live shows and concert albums, Don did likewise on all of the studio recordings. But in fact Buck overdubbed his own harmony on most of his hits. Don did sing the harmony with Buck on quite a few album tracks.
An amazing talent. The Buckaroos albums are loaded with great Don Rich performances and are definitely worth a listen. The only exception was the album of Merle Haggard songs with the “whispered” vocals.
July 18, 2024 @ 7:06 pm
Nobody in the group is in the H-o-F, except for Buck. That’s how the H-o-F works.
It would not be a bad idea for the Hall to come up with a way to recognize by name some of the individual musicians who worked in the backing bands of major country stars.
July 18, 2024 @ 8:04 pm
That is what the 3-year rotating category is supposed to be for. Adam Sheets who comments here upon occasion had the idea of inducting backing bands into the Hall of Fame, kind of like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame does. That might not be a bad idea.
July 18, 2024 @ 9:09 pm
Maybe high-level country stars who had long touring careers in front of large audiences should get an addition/extension under their plaque that recognizes one or two of their supporting players. Bob Wills went into the H-o-F as just “Bob Wills”–no “and the Texas Playboys.” Tommy Duncan is not in the Country Music H-o-F (though he’s apparently in the Rock and Roll one).
July 19, 2024 @ 6:35 am
The Musicians Hall of Fame is probably the best bet for Don Rich. Look up the place, it’s a VERY impressive museum, also in Nashville. Currently they have 378 Musicians represented. They bring attention to great sidemen as well as studio Musicians. Is Don Rich a member? I do not know. I agree more attention to Don is in order. Clearly he’s an influential Telecaster guy. He and Buck made Telecasters ” the ” country music electric guitar of choice. Of course Haggard did too, but Buck and Don did it first. However, you can’t have the discussion without mentioning James Burton , he preceded them all. He was the original Tele hero. Which I believe is why he went in the CMHOF before Rich.
July 19, 2024 @ 8:23 am
The issue with the Musicians Hall of Fame is that they cast such a wide net, it doesn’t have nearly the meaning the Country Music hall of Fame would. Sure, it would be great if they honored him as well, but the Musicians Hall of Fame is one of these institutions who seems to mostly honor who they can commit to getting to appear and perform at the induction ceremony.
July 19, 2024 @ 10:41 pm
Don Rich is in the national fiddlers hall of fame. In case anyone didn’t know
July 20, 2024 @ 2:17 pm
Several gendrations of pickers learned guitar by learning how to play like Luther and Don. Fundamental, if you play guitar.
July 21, 2024 @ 11:18 am
KAYE was a Puyallup radio station.
July 22, 2024 @ 10:19 pm
Every year he is eligible for induction I get excited, but every year I get let down. Well, I can’t argue with James Burton. It really is hard to believe that the most visible and influential sideman in country music history is not in the Country Music Hall of Fame. It bothers me more and more as years go by. He was great.
November 20, 2024 @ 8:33 am
The Hall of Fame is empty without Don.
November 20, 2024 @ 8:54 am
This was just published in the comments in the New York Times piece with Kacey Musgrave.
“The Country Music Hall of Fame is missing someone: Don Rich. Every country music fan knows who I’m talking about as his was the voice that provided the perfect harmonies that put Buck Owens in the Hall in 1996. Don’s distinctive Telecaster solos were an integral part of what became known as the “Bakersfield Sound.” Sadly Don lost his life in a 1974 motorcycle crash at the age of 32. Here’s a link to an excellent article about Don: https://savingcountrymusic.com/50-years-ago-the-tragic-death-of-don-rich/
Think of it this way: It’s as if we only recognized one of the Everly Brothers.”
November 20, 2024 @ 10:45 am
Thanks for the heads up.