Michael Hedges

(b. 31 Dec. 1953, Enid, OK, d. 1 Dec. 1997 Medocino County, CA)

This American guitarist, singer and composer has moved from being known to possess a highly individual instrumental style to a growing acclaim as a singer and composer.  In 1980, he moved to California to study computer music at Stanford University and was signed by the Windham Hill Records label.  The 43-year-old Grammy nominee was found dead down a steep embankment.  He apparently had died several days earlier while driving home from San Francisco International Airport after a Thanksgiving visit to his girlfriend in Long Island, NY, said his manager and longtime friend, Hillary Burgess.  He had been thrown from his 1986 BMW, which had tumbled 120 feet over the cliff, apparently after skidding on a rain-slicked S-curve, California Highway Patrol spokesman Bob Burke said. Worn tires and speed may have contributed to the crash, Burke said . It appeared Hedges had died close to instantly, Deputy Mendocino County Coroner Kevin roin said.