John David “JD” American singer-songwriter John Souther, a Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee known for writing hits with the Eagles, James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, has died at the age of 78.
The singer-songwriter passed away peacefully at his home in New Mexico, according to representatives for Solters PR. A cause of death was not given.
Souther was born in Detroit, Michigan, on November 2, 1945, and raised in Amarillo, Texas. After moving to Los Angeles, California, in the late 1960s, he formed a long-term partnership with Glenn Frey of the Eagles. The duo briefly formed a band called Longbranch Pennywhistle, which released one album of the same name in 1970 on Jimmy Bowen's Amos Records.
During the 1970s, Souther collaborated on several songs for the Eagles, including “Best of My Love,” “James Dean,” “New Kid In Town,” and “Doolin-Dalton.” He then co-wrote “Heartache Tonight” with Frey, Bob Seger, and Don Henley, which the Eagles recorded and released in 1979, making it a Hot 100 hit.
As a successful solo artist, Souther recorded his self-titled debut album in 1972 before forming the band Souther Hillman Furay with former Byrds member Chris Hillman and Richie Furay of Poco. In 1976, he released a second solo album, Black Roseproduced by Peter Asher, and included a duet with his then-girlfriend Linda Ronstadt called “If You Had Eyes to Cry”. His two biggest singles included 1979's “You're Only Lonely”, which reached number seven on the Hot 100, and 1981's “Her Town Too” duet with Taylor.
The prolific songwriter also wrote “Run Like a Thief” for Bonnie Raitt's 1975 album, home plateSouther also recorded several songs by Ronstadt, including “Faithless Love” and “White Rhythm and Blues”. Souther also recorded several duets with Ronstadt, including “Prisoner in Disguise”, “Sometimes You Can't Win” and “Hearts Against the Wind”, the latter of which was part of the 1980 film Urban Cowboys.
As an actor, Souther has also appeared in television shows. 30's, Nashvilleand purgatory And movies too Postcards from the Edge, My girl 2, and Delivery date.
The multi-faceted artist was scheduled to tour this month with Karla Bonoff throughout the new year, which will be canceled.
Upon his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, Souther was considered “a major architect of the Southern California sound and a major influence on a generation of songwriters.”
During a PBS interview that aired in 2016, Souther said there is “a lot of timing involved in any kind of career in the arts” and described himself as “lucky.”
“If I really had the chance, I would go to the beach, or spend an extra two weeks in Aspen skiing, or spend time on my ranch with my dogs,” he said, reflecting on his career. “I work because I love my job, but I don’t love it more than my life.”
When asked why there was such a large gap between 1984 and 1988, home at dawn and If the world was you In 2008, Souther responded, “I said, 'I'm going to stop riding the hamster wheel for a while and see what life is like when you're not on it.'” write, record, tour, write, record, tour, write, record, tour, promote“And honestly, I've had 12, 14, 20 very happy years, really.”
After a hiatus, the singer-songwriter released four more albums. Speaking about his return, Souther added: “I fell in love with the work again, which is always the key to success.”
