Boy Howdy Drummer, Co-Founder Hugh Wright Dead at 63

Hugh Wright, who was best-known as the drummer and co-founder of the country group Boy Howdy, has passed away at the age of 63.

Music Row reports that Wright died of natural causes at his home in Great Falls, Mont., on Sept. 25.

The Des Moines native studied percussion at the University of Iowa, where he served as the drum major in the marching band before graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1975. After graduation he made the move to Los Angeles, playing in the studio with national acts including legendary blues man John Lee Hooker, earning the distinction of being named the California Music Association’s Drummer of the Year in 1992.

Wright co-founded Boy Howdy, which launched the career of singer-songwriter Jeffrey Steele, who would go on to enormous success as a songwriter and producer in Nashville. In May of 1992, while in Dallas with his bandmates to shoot their debut video, Wright suffered a brain injury and broken legs when he was run over while trying to help an injured motorist on a freeway.

He had to spend hours a day at his drum kit to recover his skills, and also underwent speech therapy after the accident, according to the Los Angeles Times, but was able to re-join the band in time for a short run of success in 1993 and 1994 that includes two Top 10 hits, “She’d Give Anything” and “They Don’t Make ‘Em Like That Anymore.”

After Boy Howdy disbanded, Wright moved to Great Falls in 1995, where he continued to perform in a number of regional bands until the end of his life.

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