Jim McBride might not be a name that every country music fans knows, but there is a good chance they know his songs.
McBride, a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, died on Jan. 6.
He was 78.
McBride was best known for a pair of hits — “Chattahoochee” and “Chasing that Neon Rainbow” — that he wrote for country music icon, Alan Jackson.
“This one is very hard to take,” singer/songwriter Jerry Salley wrote on Facebook.
“Jim McBride wasn’t just a close friend, he was a true, lifelong Brother to me,” he added. “My best friend. We talked or texted every few days right up until the end.”
Salley wrote that he was “in shock” and “devastatingly sad.”
“Jimmy Ray McBride — I know you were my biggest champion and had so much to do with my nomination for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame,” he added. “That’s the kind of friend you are. You were a great songwriter. You were a great man. And you were an even greater friend.”
The Nashville Songwriters Association International account on Facebook called him “an amazing tunesmith and loved by the songwriter community.”
“Jim was a beloved Alabamian, songwriter, friend, mentor and so much more,” the Alabama Music Hall of Fame wrote on Facebook.
“His honors included a CMA Song of the Year Award, numerous accolades from ASCAP, BMI, NSAI, NARAS, CMA, AMA, ACM, Billboard Magazine, his induction into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, and his induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame,” the statement added. “We will greatly miss Mr. McBride — may his legacy live on forever.”
“A songwriters songwriter,” Reggie Starrett wrote on Facebook. “I considered Jim a friend and a huge inspiration. An unbelievable loss for country music. Jim was one of a kind.”
McBride, a native of Huntsville, Alabama, also wrote songs for Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson, the Oak Ridge Boys, Alabama, Johnny Cash, Diamond Rio, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Toby Keith, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charley Pride, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Keith Whitley and Conway Twitty.
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