JD Souther

John David Souther (November 2, 1945 – September 17, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He wrote and co-wrote songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles. Souther was known for his songwriting abilities, especially in the field of country rock.

Biography

From https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/274833011/jd_souther

Singer-Songwriter, Musician, Actor. In addition to his long solo career as a singer-songwriter that included the 1979 Top 10 hit "You're Only Lonely," he also wrote or co-wrote several songs recorded by The Eagles, including "New Kid In Town," "Best of My Love, " "How Long" and "Heartache Tonight." His friendship with Don Henley resulted in them co-writing "The Heart of the Matter" and several other songs for Henley's solo albums. Linda Ronstadt, whom he dated in the 1970s, also recorded several of his songs, including "Prisoner in Disguise" and "Faithless Love." Strother also recorded the 1981 single "Her Town Too," a duet with James Taylor. Other artists that recorded his songs include George Strait, Bonnie Raitt, Trisha Yearwood, and Brooks & Dunn. After 1984, he took a 24-year vacation from record-making, preferring life in the home he had built for himself in the Hollywood Hills and traveling the world. During those years, Souther enjoyed an unexpected career as an actor in television and film simply because someone asked. Starting with a role on the prime-time series, "Thirtysomething" in 1989, he subsequently was best known for appearing on the first season of "Nashville" in 2012, with his other parts including small roles in the films "Postcards From the Edge," "Always," "Purgatory," "Deadline" and "My Girl 2." "People would occasionally say to Souther, 'Doesn't it piss you off that the Eagles have these big hits off your songs?' Souther would usually start saying, 'Would you like to see the checks?'" "Pissed off? How could I be pissed off? Even Glenn 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.'" JD Souther was married twice, both ending in divorce. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013.

Bio by: Mike & Nancy Ridgdill

Family

• Father: John Souther (1916-2007)
• Mother: Loty Florence Finley (1922-2002)
• Siblings: two sisters
• Spouse: Alexandra Sliwin - married from 1969-1972; divorced
• Spouse: Sarah Nicholson: - married from 2004-2010; divorced
• Stepdaughter (daughter of Sarah Nicholson)

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Kin of note

• 2nd great grandfather Eugene B. Hadley (USA) was killed in action during the US Civil War.
• 3rd great grandmother Mary 'Polly' Ray was the 2nd great grandmother of musician Buddy Holly, so he was JD Souther's third cousin, once removed.
• 8th great grandfather Rev. Nicholas Noyes, of Newbury emigrated to Newbury, Massachusetts during the Puritan Great Migration, and was an original settler there.
• 9th great grandfather Capt. William Marston was a Quaker who suffered religious persecution in both England and New England.

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Tributes, honors, remembrances

“J.D. Souther was smart, talented, well-read, and in possession of a wicked sense of humor. He loved a good meal, a good movie, and a good Martini … and he loved dogs, adopting many, over the course of his lifetime.” The Eagles concluded their tribute to Souther, “Adios, old friend. Travel well.”

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References

1. Wikipedia; official website; allmovie; allmusic; imdb; legacy.com; pinterest board
2. "JD Souther, Who Wrote Hits for the Eagles and More, Dies at 78." (September 18, 2024). < nytimes.com > Mr. Souther moved to Nashville in 2001 and later to rural New Mexico. He insisted that he was happy that his songs were more famous than he was. “I like the fact that I don’t get made up before I go out of the house or check to be sure my hair looks great,” he told The Creative Independent. “I don’t really want to be stopped when I’m in the grocery store and have somebody pay a bunch of attention to me. It’ll be nice if that happens, but it’s not what I want.”
3. "J.D. Souther, songwriter behind country-rock hits by the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, dies at 78" (Sept. 17, 2024) < LATimes.com > Asked what inspired him to start recording again, he told The Times, “I probably quit making records because I thought that making records was making me crazy. Turns out I was crazy anyway.”
4. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/274833011/jd_souther
5. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GBQT-NM9
6. WikiTree contributors, "John David Souther (1945-2024)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Souther-485 : accessed 20 September 2024). cites
   1. "Distinguished Gentleman" Newspapers.com, database with images The Oshkosh Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Sun, Feb 4, 2018, page B1 (Newspapers Clip: 155561853 : accessed 18 September 2024)
   2. 1950 Census: "United States Census, 1950", database with images citing Page: 8; Line: 17; Digital film/folder number: 108859039; Image number: 9 (FamilySearch Record: 6XP7-X62C : accessed 18 September 2024) FamilySearch Image: 3QHN-PQHW-3R2W John D Souther (4), single son, in household of John Souther (34) in Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States. Born in Michigan.
   3. Marriage: "California Marriage Index, 1960-1985", database (FamilySearch Record: V62H-C3X : accessed 18 September 2024) John D Souther (23) marriage to Alexandr Sliwin (22) in 1969 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States.
   4. Divorce: "California Divorce Index, 1966-1984", database citing Los Angeles City, California, Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento (FamilySearch Record: VPY4-BXT : accessed 18 September 2024) John D Souther divorce in Sep 1971 in Los Angeles City, California.
   5. "JD Souther". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021.
   6. Wood, Mikael (September 17, 2024). "J.D. Souther, songwriter behind country-rock hits by the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, dies at 78". Los Angeles Times.
   7. Record of J D Souther: "Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)", database Gale Research Company; Detroit, Michigan; Accession Number: 4370088 (Ancestry Record 4394 #5394051 : accessed 18 September 2024) Name: J. D. Souther; Birth Year: 1945; Has Photo: No; Source: Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 12: September, 1979-August, 1982. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1983. (BioIn 12) Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 14: September, 1984-August, 1986. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1986. (BioIn 14) The Encyclopedia of Folk, Country & Western Music. Second edition. By Irwin Stambler and Grelun Landon. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1983. (EncFCWM 2) The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Third edition. Eight volumes. Edited by Colin Larkin. London: MUZE, 1998. Grove's Dictionaries, New York, 1998. (EncPopM 3) Legends in Their Own Time. New York: Prentice Hall General Reference, 1994. (LegTOT) Songwriters. A biographical dictionary with discographies. By Nigel Harrison. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1998. (Songw).
7. https://grammy.com › artists › john-david-souther John David Souther, artist, John David Souther, wins, 0, nominations, 2, 27th Annual GRAMMY Awards, nomination, Best Country Song, Faithless Love.
8. https://www.songhall.org/profile/jd_souther (inducted 2013) Hits "You're Only Lonely" (1979) became Billboard #1 AC hit