Grammy winning country music legend Don Schlitz, widely considered as one of the genre's all-time songwriting greats, died in a Nashville hospital following a sudden illness on Thursday at at the age of 73. The star became a legend with his first ever recorded song, The Gambler, which he penned when he was only 23. Immortalised by Kenny Rogers it went on to win the Grammy for best country song in 1978. It also won him his first Grammy for Best Country Song and also the CMA Song of the Year in 1979. Poignantly when a reporter told him the song had been nominated for the Country Music Association’s song of the year, he quipped it would be the first line of his obituary.
His remarkable career spanned five decades and saw him pen a wealth of hits including When You Say Nothing At All, originally recorded by Keith Whitley and later Alison Krauss. Ronan Keating would later take his version of the track to the top of the UK charts.
He also famously wrote On the Other Hand and Forever and Ever, Amen for Randy Travis, He Thinks He’ll Keep Her for Mary Chapin Carpenter and reunited with Kenny Rogers writing the song The Greatest.
He was behind more than 50 Top 10 hits, including 25 Number Ones recorded by artists such as The Judds, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Tanya Tucker.
Don's own life almost read like a country song. He briefly attended Duke University before moving to Nashville aged just 20 reportedly with just $80 in his pocket. His gamble paid off and among his many accolades in 2022 he became the only non-performing songwriter inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in its 100-year history.
Despite his extraordinary success, he maintained he just loved songwriting and often cited the Mark Twain quote: "I am hard at work…merely for the love of it."
Tributes flooded in for the iconic star as the news broke. Writing on Facebook one fan shared: "Such an amazing song writer, that is going to be missed in the music world."
Another added: "RIP Don. Glad I got to see you at The Opry." A third chimed in: "Big Loss, RIP Don."
Meanwhile fourth opined: "Huge, unexpected loss here. Hall of Famer, Opry member, writer of 'The Gambler' and many Randy Travis songs. Don Schlitz has died...His chart-topping songs...are touchstones and inspirations that continue to influence songwriters and singers decades after they were written."
He is survived by his wife Stacey, his children Cory Dixon and Pete Schlitz, their spouses, his grandchildren Roman, Gia, Isla and Lilah, and his siblings Brad Schlitz and Kathy Hinkley.
