Country singer-songwriter Luke Bell dies at age 32

Theresa Braine, New York Daily News
·2 min read
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Country crooner Luke Bell has been found dead a week after he went missing in Arizona. He was 32.

The actor had leaped out of the back of a pickup truck and taken off last Saturday, his friend and caretaker of the past six years, Matt Kinman, told the blog Saving Country Music. The two had just spent time in Cody, Wyoming, Bell’s hometown.

“We came down here to Arizona, to work down here, play some music, and he just took off,” Kinman said. “He was in the back of the truck. I went in to get something to eat. I came out, and he’d got out of the truck and left.”

Bell suffered from bipolar disorder, and his medication had recently been changed, Kinman told Saving Country Music, concerned that that may have “played a role” in his disappearance.

Bell was found on Monday near where he had vanished, “and in a manner we all feared he would be when we first heard the news,” Saving Country Music said.

Bell began by forming a band in college, then performed in country music bars and other venues while pursuing his art in Austin, New Orleans and other cities, The Boot reported. In 2016 he released his first and only album, the critically acclaimed “Luke Bell.”

The troubadour also played behind Willie Nelson and Dwight Yoakum, among others.

Tributes poured in from the country music world and beyond.

“Man…Luke Bell…what the f—k,” tweeted Joshua Hedley. “RIP to a real one. Been a long time since I saw him and I was just talking about him the other day wondering what he’s been up to. Truly a sad night for country music.”

“Word just came down on the passing of Luke Bell, and we’re heartbroken over the news,” wrote Mike and the Moonpies in a social media statement. “I can vividly remember the first time I met Luke at Hole in the Wall over a decade ago, down to the clothes on his back. The man (and his music) left an impression. He was a real deal traveling troubadour out there on that lost highway. Do yourself a favor and put on some Luke Bell tunes tonight in his memory. Rest In Peace, friend.”