Ricky Skaggs Drummer Found Dead On Tour Bus

12/01/2011
. (Gibson) Tom Roady, drummer and percussionist for Ricky Skaggs, was found dead on the band's tour bus prior to a show at Clemson University on Monday. He was 62. Members of Skaggs' touring band found Roady unresponsive after parking their tour bus at a hotel near the university.

"[Roady] was sleeping on the bus," said local coroner Kandy Kelley. "The other band members had gone in to get the motel rooms. Then they went to wake him up." Roady had been battling stomach cancer for five years, but cancer is not believed to be the cause of death. "We believe Tom suffered a heart attack as he slept," Skaggs said. "At least he can say he beat cancer."

Skaggs and the remaining members of the band went on to perform Monday night at Clemson's Brooks Center, the first stop on the bluegrass star's Christmas tour. Roady, who had also served as drummer for such legendary figures as Emmylou Harris, Wilson Pickett and James Brown, was a resident of Kingston Springs, Tennessee. more on this story

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