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Vail entertainment icon Rod Powell died Saturday of complications from coronavirus. Friends said he also suffered from COPD and diabetes.
Daily file photo
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This is March 6 during the 35th annual Tuxedo Ski Day on Vail Mountain and is Rod Powell’s last public appearance. Powell did not miss a Tuxedo Ski Day in three and a half decades. That’s him in the middle with the white jacket and no hat. As you can see he is happy with this hair. His lack of it is one reason you rarely saw him without a hat.
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Along with other Hall of Fame musicians, Rod Powell jammed with The Doobie Brothers.
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Rod Powell was an accomplished composer and performer, making the Billboard Top 100.
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Best friends and brothers, Shannon Tanner, left, and Rod Powell outside Beaver Creek’s Powder 8 cafe where Tanner plays apres ski and was often joined by Powell.
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Among his many passions, Rod Powell loved to sail.
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The pandemic sweeping the nation has claimed the life of a Vail musical icon.
Rod Powell, who delighted apres-ski crowds for decades in Vail with his musical talents, died from complications from coronavirus.
“Rod Powell was a legend in Vail and brought joy to so many over his tenure as Vail’s #1 Entertainer,” Shannon Tanner, his longtime friend and fellow musician said in a mass email.
Powell, who played for decades at Pepi’s and other watering holes around Vail, was the first to welcome Tanner as a “kid entertainer” from South Carolina.
“I learned much from Rod Powell … his friendship I treasured. There is a Hole in the World today,” Tanner said.
Powell’s sister, Nancy Powell Wilson, said her brother’s memorial service can wait until the pandemic has passed, probably this summer.
Powell skied March 6 at the 35th annual Tuxedo Party on Vail Mountain with friends from Vail and his native Missouri.
“It was one of those bluebird days,” long-time friend Heather Lemon said, who was along for what turned out to be Powell’s last ski day.
His friends said something might be wrong when Powell was not at church the following Sunday. He almost never missed church.
He went to his doctor Monday, March 9, and his doctor sent him to the hospital. On Wednesday, March 11 he was transferred from Vail Health hospital to Presbyterian St Luke’s Hospital in Denver where he was placed on a ventilator. He died this morning after a two-week battle.
He had COPD and diabetes, so he had underlying conditions to go with the COVID-19, friends said.
Musician, mentor, friend
Powell spent years singing on Pepi’s deck and entertaining tens of thousands of visitors over his 32 years there. Rod was always quick with a joke, always remembered his fans, and played the meanest version of “Hotel California” around. He was also a Realtor, currently a member of the Berkshire-Hathaway team.
Over the course of his career, Powell played with his own band, had a recording that made Billboard’s top 100, did a stint with the New Christy Minstrels and entertained people around the world on cruise ships. He performed for ambassadors in Europe, movie stars and for President Ford. Gregory Peck watched Powell’s first gig at Pepi’s.
Powell jammed with Hall of Fame musicians including the Doobie Brothers, Dan Fogelberg, Edwin McCain, and Steven Stills. He played Vail during ski season and headed for the Caribbean islands in the summer before moving to Eagle-Vail full time in the late 1990s.
He loved sailing and once had a boat. He loved a good fire, Blue Powerade, going to BlackHawk Casino and was a regular at the Riverwalk movie theater. He knew almost everyone in the area and had an anecdote about each one. Powell had strong faith in God and most recently attended the Vail Church.
Although he never married or had children, he loved helping kids. One of his proudest accomplishments was fundraising for the Colorado Make a Wish Foundation. He used his connections to secure donations for auctions and helped organize concerts with fellow Vail area musicians to raise funds for the organization. He and Tanner, his best friend, Tanner, were privileged to ski with a young man whose wish was to experience Vail.
Rod Powell was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, June 5, 1955, the son of Robert and Doris Atkins Powell. He attended Central High School, where he began his musical career, and Missouri Western University where he pledged TKE. His parents preceded him in death. He is survived by his sister, Nancy Powell Wilson, who lives in St. Joseph.