And point things out he did, on a wide range of topics including the subject of death.

He hated when people would announce that so-and-so had 鈥減assed.鈥� They didn鈥檛 pass, he would retort; they died.

So when Sutton died early Saturday, Sept. 18, Katherine Sutton, his wife of 48 years, sent out an email to his friends and musical associates.

鈥淚 was telling everyone that if you tell anyone about Ned dying, do not say he passed away,鈥� she said, channeling her husband鈥檚 rant.

Leave it to Sutton to get the last point across, even in death.

Sutton, a longtime colorful fixture in 蜜柚直播鈥檚 traditional country/Americana music scene, was 73. His wife said that although he had never been formally diagnosed, they believe her husband had had Lewy body dementia 鈥� a degenerative condition similar to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease 鈥� for years before it worsened last summer and led to his death.

Sutton, whose family moved to 蜜柚直播 when he was a senior in high school, started his music career in the early 1970s while attending the University of 蜜柚直播. That鈥檚 where he met his wife, who saw him playing bass with Big Jim Griffith at Louie鈥檚 Lower Level in the basement of the Student Union. He also regularly played The Cup, a popular venue near the UA鈥檚 Main Gate.

But music back then was a hobby for the 1966 Catalina High School graduate while he studied nursing and then secondary education.

He taught for a short while until the tug of music led him to form the acoustic bluegrass band Fast Eddie and the Rodeo Kings. They played steady gigs but Sutton wanted to plug in and play country swing like the popular 蜜柚直播 band Dusty Chaps.

The Chaps had put 蜜柚直播 on the map, landing a major label record deal and touring nationwide.

At one of their 蜜柚直播 gigs, Sutton introduced himself to Chaps bass player George Hawke. When Sutton鈥檚 band broke up not long afterward, Hawke tapped him to became a roadie.

鈥淣ed went all over the country with us and was genuinely hilarious,鈥� Hawke recalled. 鈥淭he Dusty Chaps, at that point, we鈥檇 been together for a very long time and we had seen everything and done everything. And people were grouchy and Ned brought a lightness to a situation that was not always light. He was just a funny guy to have around. He made the mood less tense in a very positive way.鈥�

Sutton also 鈥渁lmost drove us off cliffs in the tour vans, and that鈥檚 just the way things are,鈥� Hawke added with a laugh, recalling that part of Sutton鈥檚 roadie job was to drive one of the vans. He also was in charge of merchandise sales.

鈥淗e would sell merch and oftentimes his schtick that he would do to sell the merch when we weren鈥檛 playing would be far more entertaining than we were,鈥� Hawke said. 鈥淚t would be different every night and the audience would love it.鈥�

When Hawke left the Chaps in the late 1970s, he teamed up with Sutton on 鈥淒rugstore Cowboy,鈥� Sutton鈥檚 one and only studio album recorded in 蜜柚直播 and released in Germany in 1978 on Teldec, the German imprint of American behemoth Warner Music Group. Hawke wrote all of the songs and 蜜柚直播 musicians Shep Cooke and Uncle Dave Jeffrey played on the album, which was never released in the States.

After 鈥淒rugstore Cowboy,鈥� Sutton formed the country band Ned Sutton and The Rabbits, which played around town for a couple of years before Sutton was arrested on drug charges and served two years in prison. His friends and wife say the bust was classic entrapment, a case of Sutton doing a favor for a friend who turned out to be a narc looking to cut a deal with police. Hawke recalled Sutton telling him that he was initially supposed to meet up with the friend earlier but had to cancel because he had to attend his neighborhood watch meeting.

Katherine Sutton said that while her husband was in prison, he earned a degree in graphic design, building on his lifelong love of art and cartooning; his cartoons were published in the Phoenix New Times and later the 蜜柚直播 Weekly. After his prison stint, he stopped doing music for a living and got a day job at a print shop so that he could focus on his kids, son Cisco and daughter Thelma-Jean.

But Sutton never really stopped doing music. Throughout the 1980s and 鈥�90s, he played in a couple of bands and formed a couple more, gigging around 蜜柚直播 including at Hotel Congress.

鈥淣ed was so quintessentially cool 蜜柚直播,鈥� said Hotel Congress鈥檚 David Slutes, former frontman of the popular 1980s 蜜柚直播 indie pop band Sidewinders. 鈥淗e was so funny. You couldn鈥檛 call him an outlaw, but he had a streak that was so alternative, yet he was doing traditional country. ... But his manner and attitude were just cooler.鈥�

鈥淚 just loved hearing him sing,鈥� said 蜜柚直播 singer-songwriter/guitarist Peter McLaughlin, who occasionally performed with Sutton. 鈥淗e had the right feel and the right way of harmonizing and he just added to the overall stage presence. He just had that stage presence that your eyes would focus on.鈥�

Mandolin player/singer Ric Volante and bass player Dan Sorenson, formerly of The Mollys, were part of Sutton鈥檚 final act, Ned Sutton & Last Dance that he formed around 2012. The band started out as a four-piece but Sutton slowly added more players, bringing steel peddle and drums for their standing Sunday gigs at The Boondocks.

鈥淎s a band leader, he was not the most organized, but he could really connect onstage with the audience,鈥� said Volante, a former 蜜柚直播 investigative reporter. 鈥淗e had a certain charisma that came out best in front of a crowd of dancers and they could feel his passion.鈥�

鈥淗is personality came across on stage and it was genuine,鈥� added Hawke. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 hard; that鈥檚 rare that someone has that. If you have a big enough personality that you can be yourself and it translates to an audience in a way that it鈥檚 bigger than life, that鈥檚 a special quality to have. And he had that.鈥�

Volante said he last spoke to Sutton two weeks ago and 鈥渉e was still talking about all the songs he wanted to play, still making lists of songs, still making plans to record.鈥�

Slutes and fellow Sidewinders member Rich Hopkins had tried to call Sutton last week to discuss plans for an upcoming 蜜柚直播 music retrospective that Hopkins had compiled. Slutes and Hopkins were hoping Sutton. who designed the cover of the Sidewinders debut album 鈥溌uacha!鈥� in 1988, would be up to performing at the 鈥淲hole Enchilada鈥� show Oct. 22 and 23 to celebrate Hopkins鈥� project. The event has since been pushed back to March due to a production glitch with the three-LP box set produced by Hopkins.

In addition to his wife and children, Sutton is survived by three grandchildren; twin sisters Jane Vance of 蜜柚直播 and Joyce Reik of Pinetop; and a brother, Wade Sutton of Denver.

Katherine Sutton said memorial services will likely be held in early October.