The music world is mourning the loss of another foundational figure and multi-hyphenate.
Singer-songwriter J.D. Souther, a prolific and instrumental architect of the California country-rock movement of the 70s, died Tuesday (Sept. 17th) at his home in New Mexico, according to an announcement on his website.
He was 78 years old.
Born in Detroit, but raised in Amarillo, Texas, Souther’s life changed after his move to Los Angeles in the late 1960s introduced to him a young Glenn Frey, who would become his close friend, longtime collaborator, and bandmate in the group Longbranch/Pennywhistle before Frey would go on to become a founding member of the iconic band the Eagles.
Much of Souther’s best-known success comes from co-writing the most recognizable tunes in the catalogue of the Eagles, like the favorites “Best of My Love,” “James Dean,” “New Kid in Town,” and “Heartache Tonight.” He also penned familiar favorites like “Faithless Love” and “White Rhythm and Blues” for Linda Ronstadt, who also became a frequent duet partner.
The two became close friends and dated in the 1970s, with Souther even stepping in to the producer’s chair for Ronstadt’s 1973 release Don’t Cry Now, which features her cover of “Desperado,” written by Frey and Don Henley.
Over the years, Souther also collaborated with James Taylor, Christopher Cross, Bob Seger, Bonnie Raitt and many more, and also found success as a solo artist with albums like Black Rose and You’re Only Lonely. The latter album’s title track became Souther’s biggest hit and spent five weeks at number one on the Adult Contemporary charts in 1979.
He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013.
Souther’s success began in the writing room and on the stage, but moved to the small and big screens throughout his career journey. He appeared as “John Dunaway” in the third season of the television drama Thirtysomething, played “Ted” in the 1990 film Postcards from the Edge, and starred as “Jeffrey Pomeroy” in My Girl 2. In recent years, Souther was best known for his picture-perfect portrayal of the fictitious country producer “Watty White” on ABC’s smash-hit TV show Nashville.
According to Variety, Souther had performed as recently as a week ago. He was slated to begin a tour with Karla Bonoff on Sept. 24 in Phoenix, now canceled.
This is a developing story we will continue to update as more information is released.