2026

Songwriter Jim McBride died January 7, 2026

jim mcbride

Jim McBride’s name may not always have been the first spoken when people listed the giants of country music, but few songwriters shaped the emotional language of the genre more deeply. Over a career spanning five decades, McBride wrote five number-one hits, ten Top 10 singles, and eighteen songs that reached the Top 40 on the country charts. His work defined the sound of multiple eras, from the outlaw-tinged 1970s to the polished radio country of the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2017, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame recognized his enduring influence, cementing his place among the architects of…
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