Biography:

Ronnie Bowman (July 9, 1961 – March 22, 2026) was an American singer and composer of bluegrass music. Besides his solo albums, he was known for his work with the Lonesome River Band.

Early years

A native of Mount Airy, North Carolina, Bowman sang gospel music from age three until his late teens. He sang in his family band with his four sisters, playing at churches in North Carolina and Virginia.[2][3]

Bowman joined bluegrass band The Lost and Found in 1987 and performed with them for two years.[2]

Lonesome River Band

From 1990 until 2001, Bowman was the vocalist and bass player in the Lonesome River Band, with bandmates Sammy Shelor, Dan Tyminski, and Tim Austin.[4] Their 1991 album Carrying the Tradition was named the IBMA 1991 Album of the Year.[2]

Solo career

Cold Virginia Night, released in 1994, featured appearances by Alison Krauss, Del McCoury, and Tony Rice.[5]

Bowman released Starting Over in 2003, with Don Cook producing several songs. Bowman was also assisted by Tyminski, Jerry Douglas, and Barry Bales (all from Union Station), Ron Stewart, and Steve Gulley.[3]

Bowman 2006’s It’s Gettin’ Better All The Time in Nashville with members of his group The Committee: Wyatt Rice (guitar), Andy Hall (resonator guitar), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle, vocals), and Garnet Imes Bowman (vocalist and Ronnie’s wife). Special guests included Del McCoury, Rob McCoury, Ronnie McCoury, Dan Tyminski, and John Barlow Jarvis.[6]

Songwriting

For Chris Stapleton‘s Traveller album, Bowman wrote “Nobody to Blame” with Stapleton and Barry Bales, and “Outlaw State of Mind” with Stapleton and Jerry Salley.[7]

Lee Ann Womack included Bowman’s song “The Healing Kind” (co-written with Greg Luck) on the album I Hope You Dance.[8]

Bowman’s song “It’s Getting Better All the Time” (co-written with Don Cook) was recorded by Brooks & Dunn.[9]

Bowman and Stapleton also wrote “Never Wanted Nothing More” which Kenny Chesney included on his album Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates.[10]

Band of Ruhks

Besides Bowman, the Band of Ruhks includes two other former Lonesome River Bandmates: Don Rigsby and Kenny Smith.[11][12] Ralph Stanley provided vocals on the song “Coal Minin’ Man.”[13] The band got their name from the ancient Persian word for a warrior’s chariot.[7]

Bowman frequently performed with Dan Tyminski, with whom he played in the Lonesome River Band.[7]

Death

On March 22, 2026, Bowman died after being involved in a motorcycle accident in Nashville, Tennessee.[14]

Credits:

Wikipedia