J.D. Souther

John David Souther, known professionally as JD Souther, is an American singer-songwriter who played a major role in the development of Southern California rock music in the 1970s as part of a group that included Kris Kristofferson, Tim Hardin, Ry Cooder and Rick Martin and bands such as the Eagles, Poco and The Flying Burrito Brothers. Born in Detroit on November 2, 1945, he grew up in Texas where Roy Orbison had a major influence on his musical style. After a stint as drummer in the garage rock band The Cinders between 1963 and 1967, he moved to Los Angeles and joined future Eagles star Glenn Frey in a duo called Longbranch Pennywhistle. He made his debut with the album John David Souther in 1972, but it produced no hits, so he formed the group The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, with Chris Hillman of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers and Richie Furay of Buffalo Springfield and Poco. After one album, they split up and he began writing for other artists. He collaborated on such Eagles hits as "Best of My Love", "Heartache Tonight" and "New Kid in Town" and produced and contributed songs to Linda Ronstadt's 1973 album Don't Cry Now. He released an album called Black Rose in 1978, and the following year, the title track from You're Only Lonely peaked at number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles Chart and entered the Hot 100. The single "Her Town Too" with James Taylor in 1981 peaked at number five on the Adult Contemporary Chart and number eleven on the Hot 100. He wrote several songs for the Grammy-nominated soundtrack to the feature film Urban Cowboy (1980). In 1984, he collaborated again with Linda Ronstadt for the Grammy-nominated album Faithless Love and recorded his own album Home by Dawn. He has also collaborated with other pop-rock artists such as Don Henley, Christopher Cross, and Dan Fogelberg, and has recorded with many jazz stars such as Stanley Clarke, Donald Byrd, and Chris Walters. Souther has also had an acting career in several feature films and television shows such as Thirtysomething and Nashville. His records have been heard in films such as The Sure Thing, About Last Night, The Color of Money, Always, Cry-Baby, and Pure Country, as well as on the television shows The Simpsons and Sex and the City. J.D. Souther continued to perform and record, turning to jazz with the albums If the World Was You (2008), Natural History (2011), and Tenderness (2015). He died on September 17, 2024, at the age of 78.

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