John David “JD” Souther, a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and known for his hit singles with the Eagles, James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, has died at the age of 78.

The singer-songwriter died peacefully at home in New Mexico, according to representatives for Solters PR. A cause of death was not given.

Souther was born in Detroit, Michigan, on November 2, 1945, and grew up in Amarillo, Texas. After moving to Los Angeles, California, in the late 1960s, he formed a long-term association with Glenn Frey of the Eagles. The duo briefly formed a band called Longbranch Pennywhistle, which released a single eponymous album for Jimmy Bowen’s Amos Records in 1970.

Throughout the 1970s, Souther worked on several songs for the Eagles, including “Best of My Love”, “James Dean”, “New Kid In Town” and “Doolin-Dalton”. He would later co-write “Heartache Tonight” with Frey, Bob Seger and Don Henley, which the Eagles would record and release in 1979, giving the group their last song to top the Hot 100.

A successful solo artist, Souther recorded his self-titled debut in 1972 before forming The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band with former Byrds member Chris Hillman and Poco’s Richie Furay. He released a second solo album, Black rosewhich was produced by Peter Asher, and featured a duet with his then-girlfriend Linda Ronstadt, “If You Have Crying Eyes.” His two biggest solo hits were the 1979 single “You’re Only Lonely,” which reached number seven on the Hot 100, and the 1981 duet “Her Town Too” with Taylor.

The prolific songwriter also wrote “Run Like a Thief” for Bonnie Raitt’s 1975 album, Home Plateand several songs for Ronstadt, including “Faithless Love” and “White Rhythm and Blues.” Souther also recorded several duets with Ronstadt, including “Prisoner in Disguise,” “Sometimes You Can’t Win” and “Hearts Against the Wind,” the latter of which was featured in the 1980 film Urban cowboy.

As an actor, Souther also appeared in television shows Thirty-somethings, NashvilleAnd Purgatory as well as the movies Postcards from the edge, My girl 2, And Term.

The versatile artist was set to tour with Karla Bonoff this month to kick off the new year, but the tour has been cancelled.

When he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, Souther was hailed as “one of the foremost architects of the Southern California sound and a major influence on a generation of songwriters.”

During an interview with PBS that aired in 2016, Souther said that there is “a lot of timing involved in any career in the arts” and called himself “lucky.”

“If I really had a choice, I would go to the beach, I would stay an extra two weeks in Aspen to ski, or I would just hang out on my farm with my dogs,” he said, reflecting on his career. “I work because I love my job, but I don’t love it more than my life.”

When asked why there was a large gap between the years 1984 and 1994, At home with Dawn And If the world were you In 2008, Souther responded, “I said, ‘I’m going to step off the hamster wheel for a moment and just see what life is like when it’s not like that anymore. write, record, tour, write, record, tour, write, record, tour, promote.’ And honestly, I’ve had 12, 14, 20 very happy years.”

After his hiatus, the singer-songwriter would go on to release four more albums. Reflecting on his return, Souther added, “I fell in love with the work again, which is always key.”