J.D. Souther

John David Souther, who goes by the name JD, 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, he grew up in Texas where Roy Orbison was a big influence on his musical style. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s and joined future Eagles star Glen Frey as a duo called Longbranch Pennywhistle. He made his recording debut with the album 'John David Souther' in 1972 but it produced no hits so he formed a band with Chris Hillman from The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers and Richie Furay from Buffalo Springfield and Poco. After one album, they disbanded and he began writing for other artists. He collaborated on hit Eagles songs such as 'Best of My Love', 'Heartache Tonight' and 'New Kid in Town' and he produced and contributed songs to Linda Ronstadt's 1973 album 'Don't Cry Now'. He released an album titled 'Black Rose' in 1978 and the following year, the title track from 'You're Only Lonely' topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary Singles Chart and went to number on the Hot 100. The single 'Her Town Too' with James Taylor in 1981 reached number five on the Adult Contemporary Chart and number eleven on the Hot 100. He wrote several songs for the Grammy-nominated soundtrack of the 1980 feature film 'Urban Cowboy' and Linda Ronstadt recorded 'Faithless Love' which earned a Grammy Award nomination in 1984. Other pop artists he collaborated with include Don Henley, Christopher Cross and Dan Fogelberg and he recorded with many jazz stars such as Stanley Clarke, Donald Byrd and Chris Walters. Souther also has had a career as an actor 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' plus TV shows 'The Simpsons' and 'Sex and the City'.

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