Southern Gospel Icon Dottie Rambo Dies in Crash

Posted: May 11, 2008

Southern Gospel singer-songwriter Joyce "Dottie" Rambo died early this morning (May 11, 2008) when the bus she was in ran off a road in southwest Missouri and struck an embankment.

Rambo, 74, of Nashville, 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, and were hospitalized in Springfield with moderate to severe injuries.

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 on her way to a Mother's Day performance in Texas, according to her Web site.

Rambo was inducted to the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007. In 1974, the Singing Rambos backed up Dickey Betts on his first solo album, Highway Call.

Rambo has 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."

As a gospel D.J. in Upstate South Carolina during the seventies, I was able to meet the Rambos on many occasions, and really loved Dottie. She was not only a great singer, but a special human being. We will certainly miss her.

Keep it Real. Keep it Southern.

Buffalo