It is one of life’s strange conundrums in that it is only after we lose something, or more pertinently someone, that we realise their worth and impact on our own personal journey on this mortal coil. The sad passing of JD Souther at the age of 78, on September 17th, is just one example of an artist whose initial impact on my musical pilgrimage, while not exactly seismic, was still an important influence on the direction I would eventually travel, and yet, somewhat embarrassingly, fifty years later would be reduced to nothing more than a footnote.
The reason Souther resonated so strongly with me during those fledgling years revolves around this very song and this ‘Classic Clip’, first shown back in 1973, on the iconic tv show ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test‘, when my knowledge and appreciation of the finer points of the songwriting profession were still in their infancy. In those days life moved quick, tastes changed quicker than underwear, one day’s favourite would be history by tomorrow, as I listened to, and soaked up everything I could cast my ears and eyes upon. During this time my relatively small album collection was made up of all the different variations of rock music, be it glam, blues, heavy or progressive, apart from one, that being The Eagles, and the album “Desperado”, which a school friend had originally lent me at the time of its release. One of my favourite tracks on that album was the song ‘Doolin-Dalton’, with its narrative that evoked those outlaw years of the ‘Wild West’. In those days it was a given that you would devour all there was to read on the album cover, but one thing was not registering with me, and that was each track’s songwriting credits. I guess I just assumed, or simply overlooked the fact, but either way I resolutely believed at the time that all the tracks were written by the artist whose name was on the cover. So with my first introduction to JD Souther being when he appeared on my favourite TV show performing what I presumed was an Eagles song I was somewhat perplexed and annoyed. “What right has he got to be playing that song”, I grumbled to my peers as we discussed the previous night’s viewing before the start of school the following morning. “Eh, because he co-wrote the song”, came the rather vexed reply from the friend who had originally lent me the album. “You need to check the songwriting credits” came another voice as my standing amongst my peers, not to mention my own self esteem began to shrivel in the fresh morning air.
Yes, Souther had co-written ‘Doolin-Dalton’, along with, as I was soon to discover, a whole host of other classic songs for The Eagles, such as ‘Best Of My Love’, and ‘Heartache Tonight’, and latterly on ‘New Kid In Town’, and ‘Victim Of Love’, for the“Hotel California” album, to mention just a few. He also wrote ‘Faithless Love’, and ‘White Rhythm and Blues’, for Linda Ronstadt and co-wrote ‘Her Town Too‘, that appeared on James Taylor’s platinum-certified album “Dad Loves His Work”. During those halcyon years of the seventies he was also romantically linked to Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, and briefly dated Judee Sill, becoming the inspiration for her classic song ‘Jesus Was A Cross Maker’.
Those scholastic years would see Souther’s eponymous debut release, along with the album he recorded with Chris Hillman and Richie Furay, added to my growing collection, but it would be another forty years before his name would again register with me, and I would avail myself with the excellent “Black Rose” album. To be fair, Souther’s releases were sporadic to say the least, appearing happier to be the songwriter for others and cashing-in the royalty checks than court the fickle finger of fame. One wonders how musical history might have panned out differently had he accepted the offer to join The Eagles back at their inception, but as my good friend, musical sage, and long time subscriber to AUK, Alan Peatfield. suggested to me as we discussed these finer points prior to a recent gig at our favourite venue, “The money Souther made by writing hits for others allowed him to enjoy a musical career on his terms without all the trappings of the music business, living a life permanently in the spotlight, and all the negativity that comes with that”.
So JD Souther was never a big star, and it would appear that suited him just fine, but he was one hell of a songwriter, and thanks to his appearance on ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test’ back in 1973, a young music fan would come to appreciate the importance of that craft, and for the following fifty years learn to pay homage to the men and women who plied their trade in creating this art form that today still continues to deliver an enjoyment unrivalled. Here’s to you JD.
