By TERRY MATHEWS

LINDEN – Tickets are already on sale for the June 10 JD Souther show at Music City Texas in Linden.

The Winnsboro News has secured two good seats for the show and will be giving them away to a lucky Facebook friend on June 3. Add a night’s stay at the beautiful Captain’s Castle in Jefferson, and you’ve got a sweetheart of a deal!

At the beginning on his long career, Souther, often called “The Fifth Eagle,” shared an apartment with the late Glenn Frey. They lived above Jackson Browne.

Souther and Linda Ronstadt enjoyed a long professional and personal association. He recently told an interviewer that Ronstadt was “his best friend.” He takes his new work to her for approval before releasing it to his record label.

For a while, Souther and Frey were in a band called Longbranch Pennywhistle.

John David Souther left his Amarillo home in the late 1960s, headed for California to seek fame and fortune in the music business.

He and Frey hung out at the Troubador in West Hollywood, where all the hot music acts performed.

Souther was an integral part of the “Laurel Canyon Sound” made famous in the 1970s.

He was also responsible for writing – or cowriting – many of the Eagles’ hits, including  “New Kid in Town,” “Sad Café,” “Heartache Tonight” and “Best of My Love.”

He also teamed with James Taylor for the hit, “Her Town Too.”

Last year, he released his eighth solo record, “Tenderness,” a concept record chronicling the past three years of his life, including a painful divorce.

While the songs he wrote in the 1970s and 80s helped him achieve rock star status and are always included in his set lists, Souther also has a deep appreciation for tunes from the Great American Songbook, slipping tunes like “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “Bye, Bye Blackbird” and “For All We Know” into the set list.

For the past few years, Souther has left his electric guitar at home, bringing along pianist Chris Walters and Jerry Navarro on bass. The two provide just the right background for his strong vocals.

At last year’s show, Walters stunned the audience with a concert-length performance of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” at the beginning of the evening.
Souther once said he falls in love with every woman he meets. If you listen to his songs, you it’s true.

***********************
To be eligible for a chance to win two tickets and a night at The Captain’s Castle, like our JD Souther post on The News’ Facebook page. Winner announced June 3.
*****
Tickets are $35 and are available by calling the MCT box office at 903-756-9934 Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

***********************
Click here to hear Souther sing “Something in the Dark,” included on his latest record, “Tenderness.” He wrote the song years ago for former girlfriend and fellow songwriter the late Judee Sill.