Country music star Walt Aldridge has died at the age of 70 following a long battle with an unspecified illness.
The iconic songwriter, who racked up more than 20 gold and platinum records during his career, passed away on November 19.
His death was announced by Alabama’s FAME Recording Studios & Publishing Co, his longtime publishing company.
They wrote on Facebook, “We are deeply saddened to say that our dear friend and colleague Walt Aldridge has passed away.
“We cannot possibly put into words how much Walt meant to the the FAME family! There was a time in the 80’s when Walt’s songwriting along with Robert Byrne, Tommy Brasfield and Mac McAnally carried the most of the weight of the Muscle Shoals Music industry through a difficult time in our history.
“Walt spent 17 years as staff songwriter, musician and engineer at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals. He worked on some 200 records in that length of time.”
During his career, Walt worked with major artists including Billy Ray Cyrus, Lou Reed, Clarence Carter, Marie Osmond and Billy Oceans.
His hit songs include I Loved Her First by Heartland, There’s No Getting Over Me by Ronnie Milsap and Some Things Never Change by Tim McGraw.
Walt wrote or co-wrote 56 Top 40 songs on the Billboard country charts, FAME added, and he was named one of their top 10 writers of the year twice.
He was awarded seven number one recor CMA certificates and over 30 performance awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
The country music star was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017 and into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2018.
His obituary reads, “James Walton Aldridge, Jr. was born November 12, 1955, in Florence, Alabama. He was a loving son, an amazing husband, a devoted brother, a kind father and a faithful friend.
“After a long and courageous battle with illness, Walt safely entered the arms of Jesus on November 19, 2025. His faith kept him strong amid the hardest battles.
“He was assured of Heaven and knew that his complete healing was waiting for him just on the other side of the veil.
“Walt spent most of his life in the Muscle Shoals area. He was an award-winning musician, singer, songwriter, engineer and record producer. He began his career at Fame Studios working closely with Rick Hall and many other amazing musicians.
“He has had many songs recorded by various artists and achieved the great honor of being inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
“Walt’s other interests included hunting, fishing, traveling, and woodworking. But his most loved hobby was his garden. He proudly grew his vegetables and flowers every year. He often said it made him feel connected to his own Dad.
“More than anything else, though, he loved his family! His greatest joy came from time spent with them.”
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
