Southern Gospel Music Legend Dottie Rambo Killed in Tour Bus Crash

The name Dottie Rambo might not be familiar to many of the readers of this blog, but for those of us who have been around Southern Gospel music for years and years, she was a legend. Early this morning she died when her tour bus crashed near Springfield, MO:

MOUNT VERNON — Gospel singer-songwriter Joyce “Dottie” Rambo died early today when the bus she was in ran off a road in southwest Missouri and struck an embankment.

Rambo, 74, of Nashville, Tenn., died in the crash about two miles east of Mount Vernon on Interstate 44, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. Seven other people in the bus were injured, including a 3-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy, and were hospitalized in Springfield with moderate to severe injuries, the patrol said.

It was unclear if the accident, which occurred about 2 a.m., was weather-related, the patrol said. Severe storms and tornadoes hit the region about 6 p.m. Saturday, killing 14 people. Sustained winds and storms swept through the area later in the night, according to the National Weather Service.

“She was a giant in the gospel music industry,” said Beckie Simmons, Rambo’s agent. “Dolly Parton recorded some of her songs.”

She was on her way to a Mother’s Day performance in Texas, according to her Web site. Last month, she performed at churches in Springfield and was scheduled to apper on the Jim Bakker Show in Branson in July.

Rambo was inducted to the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007.

Rambo had more than 2,500 published songs, including gospel classics such as “He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need” and the 1982 Gospel Music Association Song of the Year, “We Shall Behold Him.”

I've sung many of Rambo's songs over the years, and I remember way back in 1976 when the church choir I was traveling with sang at the Christian Bookseller's Convention in Atlantic City. The Rambos were on the program with us that night. She was a gifted songwriter and her impact on the industry will be felt for as long as Southern Gospel songs are sung.

I'm sure that everyone of us who has ever set foot on a tour bus for a long overnight drive to the next gig has had that little fear in the back of our minds about a bus crash. It doesn't happen often, but the reality is anything can happen when you're out on the road. I can remember sitting bolt upright in my bunk in the middle of the night because the driver hit the brakes a little too hard or I heard a sudden loud noise. It's a real heart-starter.

UPDATE: A video report can be found here.