The Eagles pay tribute to their collaborator, celebrated songwriter JD Souther, who has passed away aged 78

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The Eagles have paid tribute to JD Souther, the songwriting collaborator of some of their biggest hits who passed away on 17 September at his home in New Mexico at the age of 78. 

He had been due to start a solo tour with Karla Bonoff on 24 September. No cause of death has been revealed at this stage.

“We have lost a brother, a friend and a brilliant collaborator, and the world has lost a great songwriter, a pioneer of the Southern California sound that emerged in the 1970s,” a memorium by the band on their website reads.

“J.D. Souther was smart, talented, well-read, and in possession of a wicked sense of humor," it adds. "He loved a good meal, a good movie, and a good Martini… and he loved dogs, adopting many, over the course of his lifetime."

Born in Detroit, but raised in Texas, Souther would go on to co-write a host of classics for The Eagles including New Kid In Town, Heartache Tonight and Best Of My Love. He continued to collaborate with Eagles drummer/vocalist Don Henley in his solo work too.

“We mourn his loss, and we send our condolences to his family, his friends, and his many fans around the world," The Eagles add. "He was an extraordinary man and will be greatly missed by many. Adios, old friend. Travel well.”

Though Souther found his biggest success as a writer away from the limelight after becoming friends with late Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey, he also released solo albums of his own in the '70s. On his second record, 1976's Black Rose, he duetted with Linda Ronstadt on the song If You Have Crying Eyes.

He would also pen songs for Ronstadt's own albums with Faithless Love and  White Rhythm And Blues, returning to his own solo career in 2008 with the album If The World Was You.

"I used to live with JD Souther," Ronstadt told MusicRadar in 2013. "I would watch him write. He’d be sitting, he’d say something, and then he’d write it down. That’s craft.”

"It makes it go faster," Souther told American Songwriter in the interview above about his songwriting with other musicians. "I think the greatest of collaboration with others artists is you can finish the song. And if you get really lucky, which I have a couple of times – everybody doesn't get the good fortune of collaborating with Don Henley and Glenn Frey and Warren Zevon… Bob Bacharach and I wrote two songs and I thought, how is this ever going to work? But it was just as smooth as it could be. It was great."

"Souther is survived by his two sisters, his former wife and her daughter, his beloved dogs Layla and Bob, and by countless friends and colleagues within the music community and beyond," read a tribute on his site announcing his passing.

"Donations in JD’s honor can be made to Best Friends Animal Society, an organization that was very important to him."