It is with great sadness,
I am posting the news that Hughie Thomasson has passed away.
The Outlaws website  has posted Hughie died unexpectedly late Sunday night
of an apparent heart attack at his home in Brooksville, Florida.
 
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, bandmates & friends
Hughie was truly a Southern Gentleman and will be missed deeply by his fans.

We will miss you HT!

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It's been amazing reading all the words of HT's fans and friends at  the outlaws forum,
I encourage everyone to go and view some of the heartfelt post posted there.

http://outlawsmusic.com/boards/index.php?showforum=6

 

Also on the web:
http://www.myspace.com/outlawsmusic
http://www.myspace.com/hughie_thomasson_memorial

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Southern rock icon dies at his Brooksville home

 

St. Petersburg Times
By JUSTIN GEORGE
Times Staff Writer
www.sptimes.com

 

TAMPA - In 1975, the southern rock band the Outlaws opened for Kiss, a new group with a front man the world hardly knew a lick about.
But Kiss' Gene Simmons knew about promotion, and he was generous enough to coach Outlaws' lead guitarist and vocalist Hughie Thomasson.

 

"You're a great guitar player," Outlaw drummer Monte Yoho recalled Simmons saying. "But you're lacking something."

 

"What's that?" Mr. Thomasson asked.

 

"A stance," Simmons said.

 

And so Mr. Thomasson crouched and extended his left leg, an enduring pose as memorable as his high-pitched voice and high-speed fingers.

 

Mr. Thomasson, 55, died late Sunday of an apparent heart attack at his Brooksville home, band tour manager Chuck Smith said. Mr. Thomasson had fallen asleep in his favorite chair after dinner out, Smith said.

 

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Outlaws, a Tampa band, toured with Janis Joplin and Creedence Clearwater Revival. The band's debut album, The Outlaws, spent 16 weeks on the charts in 1975 and led to 11 more releases on Arista Records.

 

Green Grass & High Tides, the band's hit 1975 song was named one of Country Music Television's top 20 greatest Southern rock songs.

 

Drummer David Dix's father first spotted young Hughie playing in a beach pavilion outside Egypt Lake. At the first practice, Dix's band launched into a rock standard, and Mr. Thomasson took off on the guitar.

 

"He commanded attention," Dix said.

 

The teen band's existing guitar player stormed out in frustration, Dix said.

 

Mr. Thomasson owned 14 guitars over the years, naming each, including Louise, a favorite. He switched guitars when he felt a different colored one might help him play better.

 

The Outlaws disbanded in the 1990s, when Mr. Thomasson was offered a spot in Lynyrd Skynyrd. He played for nine years until 2005, when he decided to reform the Outlaws.

 

Together, they toured the country, putting on their last show Saturday at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Nevada.

 

"A couple of good nights running around the casino, having fun, being friends," Yoho said.

 

Mr. Thomasson is survived by his wife, Mary, and a daughter, band members said.

 

He and the Outlaws also left behind a final album, Once an Outlaw, not yet released. Band members consider it some of Mr. Thomasson's best work.

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FREEBORN MAN

Remembering Outlaws founder Hughie Thomasson

By Mark Voger
For The Asbury Park Press
www.app.com/
December 28, 2007

Welcome to the conclusion of "ICONS," our end-of-year series remembering past PAGE X interview subjects we lost in 2007.

As founder of Southern rockers the Outlaws, guitarist Hughie Thomasson wrote one of the most memorable songs in classic rock: "Green Grass and High Tides." Thomasson also played with Lynyrd Skynyrd in the '90s and '00s. The Tampa, Fla., native died Sept. 9 at age 55.

Following is a never-before-published interview from 2005.

PAGE X: Attending concerts in the '70s, it didn't matter that one band was called "Southern rock" or another was called "progressive rock" or another was called "glam rock." You could see a triple bill with the Outlaws and, say, Blue Oyster Cult ? I just pulled that name out of the air.

THOMASSON: Or the Doobie Brothers or Charlie Daniels. And you know what? That's really cool that you say that, because we were labeled as a Southern rock band. And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm proud to be from the South. Don't get me wrong. But I live in America. And what I always answer everyone is, "I don't care what you call it, as long as you like it." It really doesn't matter. If you like it, it's the Outlaws. It's not Southern, it's not Western, it's not Northern, it's not Eastern. It's the Outlaws' music.

PAGE X: Another aspect of '70s concertgoing was the rampant marijuana use. Onstage, did you guys notice all the clouds coming your way?

THOMASSON: (Laughs) How could you not? Things are a lot different now. Everybody's grown up. Everybody is more conscious about their health and the things they do, including myself and the band. But back then, that was just part of the era, man. That was like goin' to Woodstock. That's the way it was. I mean, back in the '70s, many a night we'd play a whole show and then when we started "Green Grass and High Tides" ? exactly what you said. All of a sudden, the arena would suddenly become foggy, if you will (laughs). The lights looked better, the sound got louder, we played longer and everybody had a really magical time.

PAGE X: You've heard the old debate, "Beatles or Rolling Stones?" A lot of '70s rock fans used to say, " 'Green Grass and High Tides' or 'Freebird'?" We debated which was the superior Southern-rock epic. Did word of that debate ever reach you?

THOMASSON: Sure it did.

PAGE X: Years later, when you played with Lynyrd Skynyrd, did it seem like you were defecting to the competition?

THOMASSON: (Laughs) You know what? I was so blessed and so lucky and so thankful. I got to play with two of greatest bands in the world. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. To be able to play "Freebird" ? I knew Ronnie (Van Zant) personally. We toured with them back then. We got to be very close. Al (Collins) and Gary (Rossington) ? all of the band. When they called me and asked me to come play with them in 1996, I of course said yes.

PAGE X: Most people think of the Outlaws as guitar-slingers, but you boys pull off your share of harmonies.

THOMASSON: I always had this saying that I would tell the band. I said, "You know, if we could learn to sing like the Eagles and play like the Outlaws, we got somethin'." With that rule of thumb, we approached making all of our records that way. Sometimes we succeeded, sometimes we fell short, but always we gave it 110 percent.

PAGE X: How do you reflect on the time the original Outlaws broke up (in 1982)?

THOMASSON: I feel like we kind of got cut off midstream for a number of different reasons. We made some great records and we made some records that, in my opinion, were not great. But we did the best we could at the time. We were under a lot of pressure from the record company to keep producing records one after another. When that happens, sometimes you don't get the selection of songs or the time to live with the songs to know that they're the right songs for the band.

PAGE X: Since the Outlaws reunited (in 2005), do you see a lot of the old fans at your shows?

THOMASSON: We've got old fans, new fans, moms and dads bringing their kids. It's a wonderful thing. You know, if I could say anything to our fans from those years to now: God bless you all and thank you for being there for us. Because without you guys, we wouldn't have anybody to play to.

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Losing Hughie

 

By Jan Swoope
For The Commercial Dispatch
www.cdispatch.com

 

 As I sat hunched over the computer, chewing on the metaphorical pencil, a phone call came in the midst of writing that changed the course of the column. 

 

Hughie Thomasson has died. Southern rock has lost a pioneer. The Outlaws and Lynyrd Skynyrd have lost an old soldier. Those of us nurtured on the rowdy stuff through the late '60s and '70s have lost one more link to our halcyon past. Most devastating of all, a Brooksville, Fla., family has lost a husband, father and grandfather.

 

The somber news came from Ean Evans, on the road with Lynyrd Skynyrd. The bass player, who lives in Columbus, is struggling  with the loss of his former bandmate and longtime friend and mentor. “It's so hard to believe. ... Hughie set me in my places. He was my destiny-maker,” Evans said,  speaking of Thomasson's  influence on his musical career, first with The Outlaws  and later with Skynyrd. It's plain the loss is difficult to accept. 

 

The Southern rock family is a pretty close-knit one.  Like siblings, some wrangling may go on from time to time, but the music connects them, not just to a region, but to a spirit. When a family member with a tenure like  Thomasson's goes down, the after-shock is widespread. As the news gains ground, tributes are emerging on sites from Charlie Daniels' to Ted Nugent's.

 

The Outlaws roared out of Tampa, Fla., to become the first rock band signed by Clive Davis to his Arista Records in the mid-70s. Their “Florida Guitar Arm” sound was largely defined by Thomasson's signature guitar work and vocals until they disbanded in the mid-90s when the guitar giant left to join Lynyrd Skynyrd.

 

In 2005, after nearly a decade with Skynyrd, Thomasson exited and reunited The Outlaws. The road tours were on, buzz was building, a new album, produced by Thomasson, is nearing release. Optimism seemed to be riding high.

 

That all abruptly changed late Sept. 9, when Hughie, who recently turned 55, suffered an apparent heart attack. CMT reports he passed away while napping in his favorite chair where he'd settled to watch some football after a dinner out with Mary, his wife of over 20 years.

 

Only five weeks ago, I was enjoying writing about Hughie Thomasson and The Outlaws from a happier standpoint,  interviewing co-founder and drummer Monte Yoho before the band's show at the Sturgis South Motorcycle Rally.

 

The Mississippi date was the last on a hectic tour leg. The guys were feeling positive about the new CD and glad to be getting back to the South and to a few days' rest in Florida with their families after Sturgis. Who could have foreseen how quickly the wheels would come off?

 

Today, The Outlaws Web site, www.outlawsmusic.com, grows steadily with remembrances from friends and shocked fans as word continues to spread.
 
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thomasson's musical home for so long, is a band that knows too much about sudden loss. A 1977 plane crash in the swampy woods near Gillsburg saw to that. A tribute to Thomasson on their Web site today begins, “With our deepest sympathy, we have lost another one of our brothers to the rock and roll heaven.”

 

In New York Tuesday night, Skynyrd started their show with the announcement that Hughie had passed away and dedicated the night to him. In the words of someone there who cared, “The crowd fell silent for a few moments after the announcement and people were weeping in their seats. They were not alone; most members of the band broke into tears at some point during the show.” .... “Fly on, Free Bird.”

 

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2007/09/13/columns/swoope/swoope9837.txt

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Guitarist Remembered For Generosity

 

By Geoff Fox 
The Tampa Tribune

 
BROOKSVILLE - Florida's famed "Guitar Army" has lost a soldier.

 

Hughie Thomasson, a founding member of The Outlaws, the world-touring, Tampa-based Southern rock band, died of an apparent heart attack at his Brooksville home late Sunday.

 

An architect of the guitar-laden sound that produced anthems such as "There Goes Another Love Song" and "Green Grass and High Tides," Thomasson, 55, had recently produced The Outlaws' latest CD, "Once An Outlaw."

 

Thomasson's daughter, Constance Golder of Tampa, said he died in his sleep.

 

"He had no idea he was who he was," she said. "He was the nicest man, the most generous man in the whole world."

 

Other survivors include Mary Thomasson, his wife of more than 20 years, an adult son and granddaughter. Funeral arrangements were incomplete Monday.

 

David Dix, a drummer with The Outlaws who had known Thomasson since they were teenagers in Tampa, said the band was devastated by his friend's unexpected death.

 

"There's never a good time for something like this to happen, but things were so much on the upswing," he said. "It looked like we were going to have a shot at recapturing the past glory."

 

The band had recently toured the United States with The Charlie Daniels Band and The Marshall Tucker Band, and also had played a festival in Amsterdam with Aerosmith, Scorpions and Tesla.

 

Dix and Thomasson were teenagers when they joined a Tampa bar band called The Outlaws in the late 1960s. Dix said the band was led by local musician named Frank Guidry.

 

After a breakup and a couple of lineup changes, Thomasson reformed the group in the early 1970s. The band was signed by Arista Records a few years later.

 

"Around the time of the third album they called and wanted me to rejoin them," Dix said. "They wanted two drummers, which was kind of a big thing back then."

 

From 1975 to 1980, the band recorded gold albums, "The Outlaws (1975), "Bring It Back Alive (1977) and "Ghost Riders in the Sky" (1980).

 

"I used to think of us as a hard-rock version of The Eagles," Thomasson told The Tampa Tribune in 1988.

 

Drummer Monte Yoho, who has been with the group off and on since the early 1970s, referred to Thomasson's production work on the new CD as his "master achievement."

 

"This record could not have captured The Outlaws better than it did," he said. "It was the right time in everybody's career. People will hear it, but there might be some healing time before we even sit down and think about [distribution]. We'll get to it when the time is right."

 

During a roughly 10-year hiatus from The Outlaws, Thomasson also toured and recorded with a revamped Lynyrd Skynyrd. On Monday, friends and family remembered his happy-go-lucky personality and willingness to play to crowds of any size.

 

In October 2006, the group performed a benefit concert at the Performing Arts Center at Pasco-Hernando Community College that established a scholarship endowment for PHCC students in The Outlaws' name.

 

"We've played all over [Tampa] and this state - Gainesville, Lowry Park, the USF soccer field and cafeteria. Anywhere they'd have us, we played," Thomasson said at the time.

 

With a laugh, he added, "It's kind of that way still."

 

Despite all that experience, Golder said Monday that performing still made her father nervous.

 

"But, any time he could help someone, he did," she said. "He did a free show in Ohio for the troops [this year] and he was so excited. Then there was another one in Tampa for a charity for mentally [handicapped] children.

 

"He just wanted to be a part of something to help someone else."

 

Researcher Buddy Jaudon contributed to this story.

 

You can add comments at this page,
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/sep/10/guitarist-remembered-generosity/?news-breaking

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This was posted on The Outlaws Forum by it's moderator.... 

In Lieu of Flowers

 

Flowers are very nice, but ultimately have no lasting value. Hughie's family has asked us to post their earnest request that those wishing to do something to honor Hughie please do not send flowers. They ask that in lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to one of the two following charities, The Angelus and The Heroes Fund, both of which Hughie felt strongly enough about to schedule benefit performances in the coming months. Since The Outlaws will be unable to participate in these benefit concerts, what better way is there to honor Hughie than to replace the income that would have been raised by the shows with our charitable contributions.

 

The Heroes Fund - provides assistance for veterans’ families who have financial or medical hardships as well as providing grants to other veterans’ organizations.

 

www.theheroesfund.org - Click on the link to make an online donation,

or send a check payable to:
The Heroes Fund
P.O. Box 8339
West Chester, Ohio 45069

 

The Angelus - is a residential group home near Tampa for severely handicapped persons who are not able to care for themselves. All of the residents and students have cerebral palsy and all use wheelchairs.

 

http://www.theangelus.com/ - Click on the link to make an online donation,

or send a check payable to:
The Angelus, Inc.
12413 Hudson Avenue
Hudson, FL 34669

The Freedom Calls Foundation - provides over a million minutes of voice communications, and hundreds and hundreds of video links per month via satellite for our troops to see and talk to their loved ones back Home.
http://theheroesfund.org/heroescelebration/donations.html - Click on the link to make an online donation,

or send a check payable to:
Freedom Calls
P.O. Box 8339
West Chester, Ohio 45069

http://outlawsmusic.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=1596

The Thomasson family would like to announce that they will hold a private funeral for Hughie. The services will be for family only. While the family recognizes and appreciates the deep feelings for Hughie that are held by so many, and that friends and fans wish to pay their respects, they are simply not prepared to host such a gathering or receive friends at this time. A memorial event along lines that Hughie would have been comfortable will be announced at a later date, and friends and fans will be invited to attend. In the mean time, they ask that we all respect their wishes for privacy and give them the time they need to grieve as a family.

The family would like to thank the hundreds of people who have taken the time to post condolence messages for their kind thoughts and prayers. The family is reading every message on the condolence thread, and it means a great deal to them. Those who for whatever reason do not wish to leave a public condolence message may write to the family privately. Please understand that although your messages will all be read, it may be some time before the family can respond, due to the extremely large amount of of correspondence with which they are dealing.

Private condolence messages may be sent to:
Hughie's daughter, Constance: constance@outlawsmusic.com
Hughie's sister, Betty: betty@outlawsmusic.com

----------------------------------------------------

This was posted on The Outlaws Forum by it's Moderator JB - who must be overwhelmed himself, but inspite of his grief has done an outstanding job with keeping the fans updated and aware as events unfold. Our thoughts and prayers are with him as well as he handles these difficult task.

Southern Rock Pioneer Hughie Thomasson
Dies in Florida

Guitarist Founded the Outlaws and Later Joined Lynyrd Skynyrd

From CMT.com
By: Chet Flippo

One of the pre-eminent Southern rock guitarists has died. Hughie Thomasson went out to dinner with his wife Mary on Sunday ( Sept. 9 ), went home, got comfortable in his favorite chair to watch football and then passed away from a heart attack during a nap. He was 55 and lived in Brooksville, Fla., near Tampa.

Born Hugh Edward Thomasson Jr., Hughie Thomasson joined a fledging Tampa-area bar band named the Outlaws in the late '60s. With David Dix on drums, Thomasson quickly made a name for himself as a no-nonsense guitar master. The group disbanded, but Thomasson reformed the Outlaws in 1972 with guitarist Henry Paul, drummer Monte Yoho and bassist Frank O'Keefe. (Paul later enjoyed a successful country career as a member of BlackHawk.) Guitarist Billy Jones joined in 1973.

Known as the "Florida Guitar Army" for their triple-lead guitar attack, the Outlaws were the first group signed to former Columbia Records head Clive Davis when he formed Arista Records. Davis signed them on the spot when he saw them play a small Georgia club.

Their 1975 debut album The Outlaws quickly sold gold, and they were signed as the opening act on the Doobie Brothers' Stampede tour. The band went on to record 13 albums in all, with such hits as "Green Grass and High Tides" and "Hurry Sundown," both of which Thomasson wrote. His signature Fender Stratocaster guitar sound and vocals came to define the group.

The Outlaws disbanded in the mid-'90s when Thomasson joined Lynyrd Skynyrd. He added his distinctive guitar sound to Skynyrd's robust lineup and co-wrote many of the band's later songs. In 2005, Thomasson left Skynyrd and reformed the Outlaws with drummers Yoho and Dix, bassist Randy Threet and guitarist Chris Anderson.

They toured extensively this year and performed with the Charlie Daniels Band, the Marshall Tucker Band and Dickey Betts and also played a festival in Amsterdam with Aerosmith. The Outlaws' last concert took place Saturday ( Sept. 8 ) at a casino in Nevada, and they had 15 concert dates scheduled through mid-December of this year. A final, completed album, tentatively titled Once an Outlaw, which Thomasson produced, has not yet been scheduled for release. Thomasson had also planned to re-release his solo album, So Low, under the new title, Lone Outlaw.

Memorial plans were incomplete as of Tuesday afternoon ( Sept. 11 ).

Outlaws founding guitarist
Hughie Thomasson dies

The Associated Press
   
TAMPA, Fla. - Hughie Thomasson, a guitarist and founding member of the popular Southern rock band The Outlaws, has died. He was 55.

Thomasson, an architect of the sound that produced the 1970s rock anthems "There Goes Another Love Song" and "Green Grass and High Tides," died Sunday of an apparent heart attack at his home in Brooksville, north of Tampa. His death was reported on the band's Web site Tuesday.

Thomasson was a teenager when he joined the Tampa-based band in the late 1960s. After a breakup and a couple of lineup changes, the group reformed in the early 1970s and released its debut album, "The Outlaws," in 1975.

The album spent weeks on the charts and established The Outlaws as one of the pioneers of the Southern rock sound alongside such bands as Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band and the Allman Brothers Band.

The Outlaws recorded more hit albums and toured extensively before disbanding in the 1990s, when Thomasson was offered a spot in the revamped Lynyrd Skynyrd. He left that group in 2005 to reform The Outlaws, which toured regularly in recent years.

Thomasson recently produced a new CD for the band, surviving members said.

From AntiMusic.com

(antiMusic) Outlaws founder and one time Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Hughie Thomasson passed away Sunday night at his home in Brooksville, Fla. "He went out to dinner with his wife Mary on Sunday ( Sept. 9 ), went home, got comfortable in his favorite chair to watch football and then passed away from a heart attack during a nap," according to CMT.

Lynyrd Skynyrd issued a statement on their website "With our deepest sympathy we have lost another one of our brothers to the rock and roll heaven. We had many a good time writing and playing with Hughie and spent many miles on the road together. God bless his family and all the fans that love Hughie for his playing and singing. Out hearts and prayers go out to his family. He will be truly missed. Fly on Free Bird."

Thomasson was a founder of the legendary southern rock band The Outlaws and stayed with the band through several lineup changes, breakups and reformations. During their career they produced 13 albums and amassed a loyal following. Following one of their breakups, Thomasson joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1996 and stay with them up until the 2005 reunion of the Outlaws.

Apparently we have not heard the last of Thomasson's music. CMT reports that the Outlaws have finished recording a new album, "tentatively titled Once an Outlaw, which Thomasson produced... Thomasson had also planned to re-release his solo album, So Low, under the new title, Lone Outlaw."

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