Bass player Hillous Butrum died on April 27 in Nashville. Butrum was most famous for being a member of Hank Williams’ Drifting Cowboys, but he also played with Benny Martin, Marty Robbins, Hank Snow, and the blackface duo Jamup & Honey. He was 74.
Lionel Delmore, who co-wrote “Swingin'” with John Anderson, died May 20 in Nashville. The 1983 tune is one of the best-selling country singles of all time. His father, Alton, and his uncle, Rabon, were the pioneering duo the Delmore Brothers. He was 62.
Oscar Florentino Tellez, a bajo sexto player known for his work with the Texas Tornados and various San Antonio artists, died May 26 in an automobile crash near Cotulla, Texas. He was 56.
