Nashville misplaced one in all its true songwriting giants on April 16, as Don Schlitz died at an area hospital following a sudden sickness. He was 73.
A grasp storyteller whose pen helped outline fashionable nation music, Schlitz constructed a catalog full of classics, together with “The Gambler,” “On the Different Hand,” “Eternally and Ever, Amen,” “He Thinks He’ll Hold Her,” “The Biggest,” and “When You Say Nothing At All.” His impression earned him uncommon triple recognition, with inductions into the Nashville Songwriters Corridor of Fame, Songwriters Corridor of Fame, and the Nation Music Corridor of Fame.
Schlitz’s profession took off in outstanding trend when Kenny Rogers recorded “The Gambler,” marking the younger songwriter’s first main reduce. The tune shortly turned a cultural touchstone, incomes a Grammy Award for Greatest Nation Tune and the CMA Tune of the Yr, setting the tone for a profession outlined by excellence.
That early success was no fluke. Over the many years, Schlitz’s songs powered the careers of artists like Randy Travis, The Judds, Tanya Tucker, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Keith Whitley, and Alison Krauss, amongst many others. In complete, he amassed 50 Prime 10 hits and a formidable 25 No. 1 singles.
His trophy case mirrored that dominance. Schlitz was named ASCAP Nation Songwriter of the Yr for 4 consecutive years from 1988 by means of 1991 and picked up a number of trade honors, together with three CMA Tune of the Yr awards, two ACM Tune of the Yr trophies, and two Grammys throughout a profession that spanned 5 many years.
Recognition from his friends adopted steadily. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Affiliation Worldwide Corridor of Fame, then the Songwriters Corridor of Fame in 2012. His 2017 induction into the Nation Music Corridor of Fame positioned him in elite firm alongside legendary writers like Bobby Braddock, Hank Cochran, Harlan Howard, and Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.
In 2022, Schlitz achieved one other historic milestone, changing into the primary non-performing songwriter inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. In recent times, he continued to take the stage, typically joking that whereas audiences may not acknowledge his face, they undoubtedly knew each phrase of his songs—a becoming legacy for one in all Music Metropolis’s most influential voices.
