Perry Baggs, drummer and songwriter for award-winning Nashville rock band Jason and the Scorchers, died on June 10, 2012. He was 50 years old. Perry had been battling diabetes and kidney failure for many years.



As drummer for the Scorchers, Perry Baggs helped blaze a path for Nashville rock music in the 1980s with a blistering blend of punk rock and classic country music.



After being dropped from their second major label, the Scorchers disbanded in 1990.



Three years later, the band regrouped for another string of albums, and had continued to perform sporadically in the new century, though Perry Baggs’ health problems eventually forced him off the drums. He was followed up by Pontus Snibb.



Perry played drums for the Scorchers for the final time at the Ryman Auditorium in 2008, when the band received a lifetime achievement award from the Americana Music Association during its annual awards show.