Co-writer of Eagles hits like 'New Kid in Town' JD Souther dies at 78

JD Souther, a singer, songwriter, and actor who had a long solo career that included the top 10 hit "You're Only Lonely," passed away on Tuesday at the age of 78.

He was a co-writer on some of the Eagles' most successful songs, such as "New Kid in Town" and "Best of My Love," and he also had a long career as a member of the Eagles, as Variety reported.

The cause of death was not disclosed; however, representatives from Solters PR stated that he passed away calmly at his home in New Mexico.

This fall, Souther was set to begin on a series of concert dates that would be performed in conjunction with Karla Bonoff, another veteran of the Southern California singer-songwriter scene of the 1970s. Souther had the opportunity to perform just five days prior to this.

Souther's Career

In addition to "New Kid" and "Best of My Love," Souther co-wrote the following compositions that were featured on Eagles albums: "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."

He was the solo author of "How Long," a cover of a song that Souther had originally released as a solo artist in 1972. The Eagles released the song in 2007.

He collaborated with Don Henley on the composition of "The Heart of the Matter," as well as on numerous other tracks from Henley's solo albums.

Souther's solo career never attained the same level of popularity as the work he composed for or performed by the most prominent artists of the era. However, in 1979, he achieved a spot in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 with the ballad "You're Only Lonely," which was reminiscent of Roy Orbison. The song also occupied the No. 1 spot on the adult contemporary chart for five weeks.

From Souther

He was also closely associated with the discography of Linda Ronstadt, whom he dated in the 1970s, in addition to his work with the Eagles. Ronstadt recorded tunes such as "Prisoner in Disguise" and "Faithless Love."

Additionally, the Dixie Chicks, George Strait, and Bonnie Raitt recorded his songs.

“There was definitely a period of time where people would occasionally say to me, ‘Doesn’t it piss you off that the Eagles have these big hits off your songs?’ I would usually start saying, ‘Would you like to see the checks?'” Souther said in an interview with the Creative Independent.

“Pissed off? How could I be pissed off? Even Glenn Frey once said — and he was kind of joking because he knows how the royalty thing works — but he 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.’ And that’s sort of true. The closest I got to being really famous was during the ‘You’re Only Lonely’ period, and I really didn’t like it that much, frankly. It’s a relief in some ways, though it also doesn’t pay quite as well.”