Drummer for Ricky Skaggs dies before SC show

[November 30, 2011]  CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -- A drummer for Grammy-winning bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs was found dead in the band's tour bus before a planned performance at Clemson University.

Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley says 62-year-old Thomas Roady of Kingston Springs, Tenn., was found dead Monday morning.

The band was pulling into a hotel parking lot in Clemson before a show at the university after driving through the night from Nashville. Roady and Skaggs were on separate buses.

Skaggs and the band's remaining members went on to perform Monday night at Clemson, the first stop on Skaggs' Christmas tour.

Kelley says Roady died in his sleep from heart problems. Roady also had cancer, but Kelley says it did not contribute to his death.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.