“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. 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.”

—Kyle Young
CEO, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

About JD Souther

As the son of a big band singer, JD Souther—who died Tuesday at seventy-eight—grew up immersed in several genres of music. Country music was not one of them. In fact, the only country sounds he heard as a child came from hymns sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford, whose records spun regularly at his grandmother’s house.

“And then I met Linda Ronstadt, who knew everything about country music,” Souther said. “She knew every word that Maybelle Carter ever wrote. . . . This whole field of American music opened up to me.”

That discovery—and Souther’s gift for bridging his numerous influences—led to an esteemed six-decade career as a songwriter, singer, and formative force in country-rock. In 1974, his “Faithless Love” was a pillar of her first chart-topping album, “Heart Like a Wheel.”

That same year, “The Best of My Love,” which Souther wrote with Glenn Frey and Don Henley of the Eagles, was released. It became the band’s first #1 hit in 1975. He also helped write their last chart-topper: 1979’s “Heartache Tonight,” as well as “New Kid in Town” and “Victim of Love.”

Souther even had an opportunity to join the band early in their run—an experience he called being “an Eagle for a day.”

“I think they were so relieved when I said, ‘No.’ I’m not a very good team player.”

Still, he didn’t want to stay behind the scenes. In addition to founding a short-lived trio with Chris Hillman and Richie Furay, Souther found success as a solo artist with his Roy Orbison–inspired single, “You’re Only Lonely,” which reached #7 on the “Billboard” Hot 100 chart in 1979. Two years later, a duet with friend James Taylor, “Her Town Too,” peaked at #11.

Over the next three decades, Souther would branch out into acting, landing several film and television roles, including a series regular spot on ABC-TV’s “Nashville,” and leaned into his love of jazz on 2008’s “If the World Was You.” But his connection to the Eagles remained a constant—including a co-writing credit on Henley’s 1990 solo hit “The Heart of the Matter.”

When the reunited Eagles released their first album of original material in twenty-eight years—2007’s “Long Road Out of Eden”—they chose one of Souther’s compositions, “How Long,” to be the album’s first single. Souther had written “How Long” more than thirty years earlier, and included it in his 1972 debut solo album. To hear Souther talk of the timeless pleasure in listening to Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, and other musical heroes, the Eagles’ choice likely made sense to him.

“Good music,” he explained, “really lasts a long time.”