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Treasured Country-Rock Songwriter JD Souther Passes

September 18, 2024/by LB Cantrell

JD Souther. Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Songwriters Hall Of Fame member JD Souther passed away on Tuesday (Sept. 17) at age 78. The tunesmith was behind a myriad of hits from the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, and was a pivotal part of the country-rock sound that reverberated in southern California during the ’70s

The Grammy nominee also wrote for country hitmakers Brooks & Dunn, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, The Chicks and more. As an artist himself, Souther issued several solo albums over the last 20 years. He notched two hits as a solo artist in his career, “You’re Only Lonely” in 1979 and “Her Town Too” in 1981 alongside longtime friend James Taylor.

Born John David Souther in Detroit, Michigan, but raised in Amarillo, Texas, the talented musician first started making music with a local band called The Cinders. After their first 45 record caught the attention of Warner Brothers Records, Souther found himself moving to L.A.

He soon met musician and songwriter Glenn Frey, and eventually roomed with him. The two clicked as collaborators and friends, and formed the folk duo Longbranch/Pennywhistle. Their only album was released in 1970 on Jimmy Bowen’s Amos Records.

Souther then formed the Souther–Hillman–Furay Band with Chris Hillman and Richie Furay. The men released two albums before calling it quits.

Other artists began to cut Souther’s songs in the ’70s. He co-wrote several hits for the Eagles, including “Best of My Love,” “James Dean,” “New Kid In Town,” “Doolin-Dalton,” “Victim of Love” and their final chart-topping song, “Heartache Tonight.”

Souther also collaborated heavily with Linda Ronstadt in the ’70s, whom he also dated. In addition to co-producing her Don’t Cry Now album, Souther wrote songs for several of her multi-Platinum albums, such as “Faithless Love” from Heart Like a Wheel and “White Rhythm and Blues” on Living in the USA. The two also recorded many duets together, like “Prisoner in Disguise,” “Sometimes You Can’t Win” and “Hearts Against the Wind.” The latter was featured in the 1980 hit film Urban Cowboy.

Other artists that recorded Southers’ songs include Bonnie Raitt, Warren Zevon, Paul Williams, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Hugh Masekela, Burt Bacharach, The Chicks, Raul Malo, India Arie, Roy Orbison, Arthur Hamilton, George Strait, Brian Wilson, Bob Dipiero, Bernadette Peters and Trisha Yearwood.

In ’76, Souther released his second solo LP, Black Rose, featuring another popular duet with Ronstadt “If You Have Crying Eyes.” He scored his biggest solo hit with the 1979 song “You’re Only Lonely” from the album of the same name, which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and held the top spot on the Adult Contemporary chart for five consecutive weeks. His hit with Taylor, “Her Town Too,” reached No. 11 on the Hot 100 and No. 5 on the AC chart in 1981.

In the ’80s, Souther contributed to, performed on and did the vocal arrangements for the Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night concert and video. He sang the Platters’ “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” in Steven Spielberg’s 1989 film Always, wrote the theme song to the 1989–92 sitcom Anything But Love and co-wrote one of Henley’s solo hits “The Heart of the Matter.” He also acted in the third season of the television drama Thirtysomething in ’89, playing John Dunaway.

The ’90s and 2000s brought more acting opportunities for Souther. He played Ted in the 1990 film Postcards from the Edge, played Jeffrey Pommeroy in the 1994 film My Girl 2 and Jesse James in the 1999 movie Purgatory. Souther appeared in the 2004 audiobook of Jimmy Buffett’s A Salty Piece of Land and in 2012, he appeared in the mystery thriller Deadline.

In 2002, Souther moved to Nashville and became a large presence in the town’s creative community. 10 years later, he landed a recurring role as Watty White in the first season of country music drama series Nashville. He reprised his role in a 2017 episode of the fifth season.

In 2008, Souther released his first new studio release in nearly 25 years with If the World Was You. In 2009 he followed it up with a live album titled Rain − Live at the Belcourt Theatre. 2011 brought Natural History, a collection of new versions of Souther’s songs recorded by other artists. He released his last album, Tenderness, in 2015.

JD Souther was added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013. At the induction ceremony he was heralded as “a principal architect of the Southern California sound and a major influence on a generation of songwriters.”

Souther has received over 20 ASCAP performance awards and the prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award in 2009. In 2023, he was interviewed as part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s “Poets and Prophets” series.

“It’s been said that JD Souther could have been a major artist if he had kept more of those beautiful, introspective songs he wrote for himself,” says the museum’s CEO Kyle Young. “He had the aching tenor voice, the good looks that got him TV acting jobs. But he was happy to co-write ‘New Kid in Town’ and ‘Best of My Love’ with his friends the Eagles and give ‘Prisoner in Disguise’ to Linda Ronstadt. He wasn’t a star of country-rock, but he was crucial to its enduring power.”

Souther is survived by two sisters, his former wife and her daughter, as well as his dogs Layla and Bob. Gifts in his honor can be made to the Best Friends Animal Society.

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LB Cantrell
LB Cantrell
LB Cantrell is Editor/Director of Operations at MusicRow magazine, where she oversees, manages and executes all company operations. LB oversees all MusicRow-related content, including the publication’s six annual print issues and online news. She is a Georgia native and a graduate of the Recording Industry Management program at Middle Tennessee State University.
LB Cantrell
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https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/JD-Souther-photo-courtesy-of-the-Country-Music-Hall-of-Fame-and-Museum-FT.jpeg 972 1279 LB Cantrell https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MusicRow-header-logo-Mar19B.png LB Cantrell2024-09-18 15:00:472024-09-18 15:02:24Treasured Country-Rock Songwriter JD Souther Passes

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