Eddie Setser, one of Music City’s top songwriters of the 1980s, died last week in Kentucky at age 77.

Setser is perhaps best known for co-writing the Willie Nelson/Ray Charles duet hit “Seven Spanish Angels.” This 1985 No. 1 smash has also been recorded by rocker Bryan Adams, country’s George Canyon and Stoney LaRue, the bluegrass band Dry Branch Fire Squad, Tex-Mex artist Stephanie Urbina Jones and The Voice contestant Adam Wakefield among many others.

The song’s renown spread overseas. It has been recorded by Dutch, Czechoslovakian, Norwegian, Estonian, French, Yugoslavian, Australian, Finnish, Jamaican and Swedish artists.

Eddie Setser was born in Kentucky, but his family moved to Cincinnati when he was 10 years old. He picked up the guitar at age 12 and started playing in Ohio nightclubs when he was 18.

Soul star James Brown discovered him and arranged for Setser’s band, The Dapps, to record for King Records in Cincinnati. The group eventually played the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem and appeared on the national Merv Griffin TV show.

Singer-songwriter Troy Seals took Setser under his wing, urged him to move to Nashville in 1974 and tutored him as a songwriter. Setser’s first notable success on Music Row was the 1978 Con Hunley hit “Weekend Friend.”

But his career really took off in the following decade with the 1982 Gary Morris hit “Don’t Look Back.” Setser also co-wrote Morris’s hits “Why Lady Why” (1984) and “Anything Goes” (1986).

The songwriter’s other big country hits included The Bellamy Brothers’ “Forget About Me” (1984), Reba McEntire’s “Let the Music Lift You Up” (1987), The Oak Ridge Boys’ “Beyond Those Years” (1989) and John Schneider’s “Country Girls” (1985) and “Love You Ain’t Seen the Last of Me” (1987).

His reputation extended beyond country music. Setser co-wrote Eric Clapton’s 1983 pop hit “I’ve Got a Rock & Roll Heart.” His songs were also sung by Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin, Greg Guidry, Etta James, The 4 Tops, Rita Coolidge, Isaac Hayes and Delbert McClinton.

Among the other top country stars who sang his songs were Charley Pride (“Down on the Farm,” 1985), Mark Gray (“It Ain’t Real,” 1982), John Anderson (“Country ‘Til I Die,” 1994), John Berry (“If I Had Any Pride Left At All,” 1995) and Faith Hill (“But I Will,” 1994).

His works were recorded by such Country Music Hall of Fame members as Don Williams, George Jones, Conway Twitty, Brenda Lee, Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, Randy Travis, Waylon Jennings, Alabama and Johnny Cash.

Eddie Setser was a native of Corbin, Kentucky. After he retired in 1996, he returned to Corbin, where he passed away on Monday, Jan. 27. His graveside funeral service was held in Lily, Kentucky on Jan. 29.

Florida Georgia Line. Photo: Robby Klein.

Florida Georgia Line has teamed with Irving and Jeffrey Azoff’s Full Stop Management, sources have confirmed to MusicRow Magazine.

The news follows Friday’s (Jan. 31) announcement that the duo had exited their longtime management home with Big Loud’s Seth England and Kevin “Chief” Zaruk.

“It has been an incredible journey with our Big Loud family and we are so thankful for the last nine years. Together we’ve grown more than we could have ever imagined due to what we all bring to the table. As we continue to evolve, so do our needs and our team. Although bittersweet, we and Big Loud are excited to support and encourage each other as we enter the next chapter of our careers, and welcome a new family into our world with open arms. We will continue to dream big and push ourselves to be the best we can be in all facets of life. We are just getting started,” said FGL’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley in a statement announcing their exit from Big Loud.

The duo has the best-selling country single of all time, with the 11x Multi-Platinum single “Cruise,” and reached genre-crossing success with their 8x Multi-Platinum single “Meant To Be” with Bebe Rexha.

The BMLG Records artists released their fourth studio album Can’t Say I Ain’t Country last year, which yielded their No. 1 hit, the Platinum-certified “Simple.” The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA.

The duo’s 2012 debut album Here’s To The Good Times is certified 2x Multi-Platinum, while their albums Anything Goes (2014) and Dig Your Roots (2016) have both been certified Platinum. The duo is currently in the studio working on their fifth project.

Among the duo’s creative initiatives are their own festival, FGL Fest, their alcohol line Old Camp Peach Pecan Whiskey, the restaurant/performance venue FGL House, music publishing company Tree Vibez Music, work space meet+greet, and label Round Here Records.