Grand Ole Opry Star Mel McDaniel In Coma After Heart Attack

Grand Ole Opry member Mel McDaniel is said to be fighting for his life in a Nashville hospital after suffering a heart attack.

“Country Weekly” is reporting that his wife, Peggy, called the magazine and said he is “not good.” She said he had a

Born and raised in Checotah, Oklahoma (also the hometown of Opry member Carrie Underwood), near Tulsa, McDaniel first earned popularity as a club act in Anchorage, Alaska. He moved to Nashville in 1976, signing a publishing deal with Columbine and eventually winning a record contract with Capitol. In addition to his seven Top 10 solo records, he wrote songs recorded by Kenny Rogers, Conway Twitty, Hoyt Axton, Earl Scruggs and others.

He is known for an engaging stage presence, for the red bandanas that he tucked in his back pocket when on stage, and for a kindly offstage demeanor that led Oak Ridge Boy Duane Allen to call him “the nicest guy in country music.”