J.D. Souther ( November 2, 1945- September 17. 2024) was a prolific songwriter and musician who helped shape the country-rock sound that took root in Southern California in the 1970s.
John David Souther was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of John Souther and Loty (nee Finley), and was raised in Amarillo, Texas. His father sang in a jazz band and later ran a store selling records and musical instruments. His grandmother was an opera singer, and the first song he learned as a child was Puccini's "Nessun Dorma". He learned to play the violin, and later clarinet, saxophone and guitar. He attended Amarillo college, but dropped out to play drums with his first band, The Cinders.
His first recordings were made with The Cinders at the nearby Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico. The band's first 45 rpm record was released on the RIC label in 1965. The following year, Norman Petty successfully shopped their recordings to Warner Bros. Records for a second single release under the name John David and The Cinders. After living in New York and Florida, Souther moved to Los Angeles in 1969 and met musician and songwriter Glenn Frey. They became room-mates and musical collaborators and briefly performed as a folk duo using the name Longbranch Pennywhistle. They released an album in 1970 on Jimmy Bowen's Amos Records.
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| Linda Ronstadt & J.D. |
Souther helped Frey form the Eagles as a backing band for Linda Ronstadt and when they branched out on their own, he played with them at the Troubadour on LA's Sunset Strip. Souther declined an offer to join The Eagles and instead signed to David Geffen's Asylum label and recorded a debut solo studio album under his own name. In 1972 he formed the Souther–Hillman–Furay Band with Chris Hillman of The Byrds and Richie Furay of Buffalo Springfield. The group released two albums which failed to sell and the band split up. Souther wrote the song "Run Like a Thief" which appeared on Bonnie Raitt's 1975 album, Home Plate.
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| J.D. with the Eagles |
1976 saw the release of Souther's second solo LP Black Rose, produced by Peter Asher and considered by many to be his finest work. It featured a duet with Ronstadt, "If You Have Crying Eyes". Souther contributed as a singer to works written by other artists, including backing vocals with Don Henley; on "The Light Is On" for Christopher Cross on his debut album; on the songs "False Faces" and "Loose Ends" on Dan Fogelberg's 1976 LP Nether Lands; and, with Fogelberg, as the Hot Damn Brothers on Fogelberg's 1975 LP Captured Angel.
Souther co-wrote several songs for the Eagles including "Best of My Love", "James Dean", "New Kid In Town", and "Doolin-Dalton". The Eagles recording "Heartache Tonight", written by Souther, Bob Seger, Frey, and Henley, was released in 1979 and became the band's final chart-topping song on the Billboard Hot 100. Souther scored his biggest solo hit with the 1979 song "You're Only Lonely" from the album of the same name, which reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and held the number 1 spot on the Adult Contemporary chart for five consecutive weeks. He was an accomplished performer, and Frey commented that the only reason he was not a bigger solo star was that "he gave the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt most of his best songs".
Souther dated Ronstadt in the 1970s and co-produced her Don't Cry Now album. He also wrote songs for several of her multi-platinum albums, including "Faithless Love" from Heart Like a Wheel and "White Rhythm and Blues" on Living in the USA. He recorded other duets with Ronstadt and collaborated with his friend James Taylor on "Her Town Too" from Taylor's platinum-certified Dad Loves His Work album; it reached number 11 on the Hot 100 and number 5 on the AC chart in 1981.
In 1987 he contributed to, performed on, and arranged the vocals for the Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night concert and video. That same year he collaborated with Clannad, providing guest vocals for their album Sirius. He sang the Platters'"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" in Steven Spielberg's 1989 film Always, and wrote the theme song to the 1989–92 sitcom Anything But Love. At the end of the 1980s, Souther retired from music for more than twenty years years "to build a great house and have a life". He returned to recording in 2008 and in October released an album recorded with a jazz band, If the World Was You, his first new studio release in nearly 25 years.
In the fall of 2009, Souther released a follow-up live album, Rain − Live at the Belcourt Theatre, featuring a blend of old and new material followed by 2011’s release of Natural History, featuring new versions of his songs recorded by other artists. In 2012, he released Midnight in Tokyo, a live EP. On June 14, 2013, Souther was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. JD Souther died at his home in Sandia Park, New Mexico, on September 17, 2024, at the age of 78. He was due to begin a tour in less than a week with songwriter Karla Bonoff.
(Edited from NPR, 106.5 The Arch Music News)