Tom Brumley

SAN ANTONIO - Steel guitarist Tom Brumley, who performed with Buck Owens and Rick Nelson, has died of a heart attack, his wife said. He was 73. Brumley suffered the heart attack on Jan. 26 and was taken to Northeast Baptist Hospital in San Antonio where he died Tuesday, according to his wife, Rolene Brumley. Brumley played steel guitar with Buck Owens and the Buckaroos from 1963 to 1969 and also played on Nelson's "Live at the Troubador" album in 1969. He spent 10 years performing with Nelson. Brumley, who at age 14 started playing bass in a band with his brothers, was honored for his steel guitar work by the Academy of Country Music awards. He also was a member of the Texas Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. He was the son of legendary gospel songwriter, Albert E. Brumley, who wrote "I'll Fly Away" and "Turn Your Radio On." From 1989 to 2003, Tom Brumley appeared with his sons at The Brumley Family Music Show in Branson, Mo.