John D. Loudermilk, 1934-2016, R.I.P.

If the face and/or the name don't look or sound familiar to you, I'm not really surprised. Even I didn't know how John D. Loudermilk looked until today... but I'd read his name on many a record label in my collection.

Loudermilk recorded under his own name, but he's primarily known as a songwriter for others.

In Loudermilk's long career, he not only wrote many songs, but he wrote quite a variety of songs. Some of the many hit songs he wrote were "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" (a hit for George Hamilton IV), "Ebony Eyes" (a hit for the Everly Brothers), "Indian Reservation" (most notably a hit by Paul Revere and the Raiders), "Norman," "Paper Tiger," and "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" (all hits for Sue Thompson), "Sittin' in the Balcony" (a hit for Eddie Cochran), "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" (a hit for The Casinos and Eddie Arnold), and "Tobacco Road" (a hit for the Nashville Teens)! Artists who recorded his songs included Johnny Cash, Boots Randolph, Chet Atkins, Roy Orbison, The Box Tops, Jerry Lee Lewis, Glen Campbell, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jimmy Dickens, Linda Ronstadt, Sandy Posey, Skeeter Davis, Johnny Tillotson, Tracey Ullman, Rare Earth, Dick and Dee Dee, the Blues Magoos, Lou Rawls...!!!

Loudermilk died at the age of 82. His contribution to music can't be overstated. 

Thanks for your time.