JD Souther, the singer and songwriter who co-wrote songs with the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, has died. He was 78.
Souther died peacefully at his house in New Mexico, based on his rep. No reason behind loss of life was given. He was about to embark on a tour with Karla Bonoff.
Souther, a Songwriters Corridor of Fame inductee, was answerable for a number of the Eagles’ greatest hits, together with the songs “Better of My Love”, “Sufferer of Love”, “Heartache Tonight”, and “New Child in City”. “How Lengthy.” With Ronstadt, he wrote and duetted on the basic songs “Prisoner in Disguise,” “Generally You Can’t Win” and “Hearts In opposition to the Wind.” He additionally loved a profitable solo profession and penned the hit songs “You’re Solely Lonely” and “Her City Too,” the latter a duet with Taylor.
Born John David Souther on Nov. 2, 1945 in Detroit, Michigan, he was raised in Amarillo, Texas. He began enjoying music within the native Amarillo scene, and his first band was The Cinders, who launched a single underneath the title John David and The Cinders in 1965.
Souther moved to Los Angeles within the late Nineteen Sixties the place he would meet and befriend Glenn Frey. Souther and Frey would turn out to be roommates and musical collaborators and would type the nation rock band Longbranch Pennywhistle, which initially carried out underneath the title John David & Glenn, earlier than different members joined the group. Longbranch Pennywhistle launched a self-titled album in 1969 underneath Jimmy Bowen’s Amos Data label.
The friendship with Frey would see Souther turn out to be a part of a circle of associates and inventive collaborators that included Don Henley and Linda Ronstadt, and he prompt as a potential member of the Eagles. Though he by no means did be a part of the band, Souther labored carefully with the Eagles and co-wrote a few of their most well-known songs. From the 26 occasions platinum-selling Eagles album Resort California, Souther co-wrote the songs “New Child in City” and “Sufferer of Love.” On the 1974 album On the Border, Souther co-wrote “You By no means Cry Like a Lover,” “Better of My Love” and “James Dean.” And on the 1979 album The Lengthy Run, Souther co-wrote three songs, together with the No.1 single “Heartache Tonight.”
Within the early Seventies, Souther was courting the singer Linda Ronstadt, and he co-wrote numerous songs for her and as effectively co-producing her 1973 album Don’t Cry Now. For Ronstadt’s followup album, Coronary heart Like a Wheel, Souther wrote the music “Faithless Love.” He duetted with Ronstadt many occasions, together with the songs “Prisoner in Disguise,” “Generally You Can’t Win” and “Hearts In opposition to the Wind,” the latter featured within the 1980 movie City Cowboy.
One other collaborator was James Taylor, and the duo loved nice success with the 1981 music “Her City Too,” which reached No. 11 on the Billboard Sizzling 100.
The Seventies had been a busy and inventive time for Souther. Along with his work with the Eagles and Ronstadt, he was additionally a member of The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, with former Byrds member Chris Hillman and Poco’s Richie Furay.
Though he’s recognized for his collaborations with a few of nation rock’s biggest-ever stars, Souther additionally had a profitable solo profession. His self-titled debut album was in 1972 on David Geffen’s Asylum Data and featured the songs “Run Like a Thief” which was later coated by Bonnie Raitt on her album Dwelling Plate in addition to the one “How Lengthy” that was commonly coated by the Eagles at stay exhibits and later featured on the band’s 2007 album Lengthy Highway Out of Eden.
Souther scored his greatest solo hit music with “You’re Solely Lonely,” from the 1979 album of the identical title. The music peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Sizzling 100.
In all, Souther launched eight solo albums and one stay album. He was inducted into the Songwriters Corridor of Fame in 2013.
Exterior of music, Souther additionally dabbled with performing. He made sporadic appearances on tv, together with the exhibits Thirtysomething, Nashville and Purgatory in addition to the movies Postcards from the Edge, My Lady 2 and Deadline.
Souther is survived by his two sisters, his former spouse and her daughter.