JD Souther at the Cactus Cafe Friday

JD Souther was raised in Amarillo, and grew up to be a multi-instrumentalist, rock and country singer, and songwriter for such luminaries as Eagles and Linda Ronstadt. As a young guitarist, he was influenced greatly by Roy Orbison, and spent much of his early career emulating him. He eventually moved out to L.A. to seek his musical fortune, and luck hit right away: he met a young guitarist from Detroit who also loved R&B and old country music, and they immediately bonded and began working together. That guy's name was Glen Frey, and after months of working together on songs, they became roommates, renting a flat one floor above Jackson Browne's, who would later become a friend and collaborator. After Glen and Fry spent a while together as Longbranch Pennywhistle Souther began collaborating with Chris Hillman and Richie Furay. They convinced David Geffen to release The Souther, Hillman Furay Band (1974), which failed commercially. Soon after their second album was released, Hillman was born again and decided to retire from secular music.

For one reason or another, Souther is one of those guys who is more well known than people realize. Like his contemporary, Kris Kristofferson, Souther has penned more successful songs for friends and collaborators than he has for himself, at least in terms of commercial success. He co-wrote "The Best of My Love" and "Heartache Tonight" for the Eagles, and produced Ronstadt's Don't Cry Now album as well as penning "Faithless Love." A duet with James Taylor called "Her Town Too" reached #11 on the Billboard charts in 1981. As a solo artist, he's best known for a particularly Orbison-inspired tune called "You're Only Lonely," from the album of the same name. It's been 25 years since he released an album on his own, but October delivered If The World Was You, recorded with a five piece jazz ensemble. He'll be performing songs from this release, as well as, we assume, some old numbers at the Cactus Cafe this Friday.

JD Souther [Official] [MySpace]