The firebrand singer and songwriter who transformed coal into diamonds by exploring her dirt-poor childhood in eastern Appalachia in her career-defining 1970 hit died on Tuesday, Oct. 4. Her family said that she died from natural causes at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
Jerry Ostensoe was known for his soothing voice and the songs he wrote telling the stories of the people and places he knew in western Minnesota. Osetensoe, 71, died Monday at his Granite Falls home.
“Playing the Corn Palace is really special. To be able to do that with your son and an old buddy in front of family and friends in a town we formed in is really special,” Jimmy River Band drummer Korrie Wenzel said.
