J.D. Souther, songwriter for the Eagles, dead at 78
Influential songwriter J.D. Souther has died at the age of 78. As a writer and musician, Souther was the talent behind some of the most adored classic rock sounds thanks to his iconic work behind the scenes as the Eagles songwriter.
At this stage, there is no information as to the cause of Souther’s death but his representatives have revealed that he died peacefully at his home in New Mexico. The musician was supposed to head out on tour with Karla Bonoff, another key 1970s singer-songwriter, and his last performance took place just five days before his death.
Souther was involved with the Eagles from their very start. He was close to, and worked with, Linda Ronstadt, too, therefore, when her band members Glenn Frey and Don Henley began to talk about starting a group of their own, he was right there to assist. Although he was never part of the official band line up, he played a vital fringe role as he co-wrote many of their songs.
Notably, he wrote two of the band’s biggest hits; ‘New Kid In Town’ and ‘Best Of My Love’. Souther played a major role in helping to craft their unique 1970s sound back in their earliest days, and his impact stuck around for decades. Even in 2007, they were inspired by Souther’s writing as they released their version of his own 1971 solo track, ‘How Long’.
Among the other tracks co-written with Souther that the band recorded include, ‘Heartache Tonight’, ‘Victim of Love’, ‘James Dean’, ‘Doolin-Dalton’, ‘The Sad Cafe’, ‘You Never Cry Like a Lover’, ‘Teenage Jail’ and ‘Last Good Time in Town’.
Furthermore, he penned tracks for Don Henley’s solo records, as well as other artists like ‘Faithless Love’ for Linda Ronstadt, and ‘Run Like a Thief’ for Bonnie Raitt. All of this led to him being inducted into the Songwriter Hall of Fame in 2013.
Beyond writing for other people, Souther had a solo career where he released eight studio albums and one live album. His 1976 sophomore album, Black Rose, features a duet with Ronstadt. According to Souther, Frey once said, “One of the reasons JD didn’t have a bigger solo career is because he gave us or Linda Ronstadt most of his best songs.”
Souther also had an acting career, appearing in the drama series Thirtysomething in 1989 and starring alongside Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine in Carrie Fisher’s film Postcards from the Edge. As a nod to his country and rock roots, he also starred in the TV series Nashville.
In January of this year, Souther joined the Eagles on stage at Inglewood’s Kia Forum, where Henley introduced him as a crucial part of the “tightknit community of songwriters and singers” that he and Frey would turn to in the ’70s “when we would get stuck on a song, or we’d try to start some new material.”
Souther is survived by his two sisters and his former wife and her daughter.
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