Walt Aldridge’s name might not be one most modern country music fans know, but they probably should because there’s a good chance they know his songs.
Aldridge, a prolific musician, songwriter and engineer, died Wednesday.
He was 70.
Fame Recording Studios and Publishing put out a long statement on Facebook following his death.
“We are deeply saddened to say that our dear friend and colleague Walt Aldridge has passed away,” it read. “We cannot possibly put into words how much walt meant to the FAME family! There was a time in the 80s 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 though a difficult time in our history.”
Country Insider reported that Aldridge wrote or co-wrote a whopping 56 top 40 songs on the Billboard country charts. The outlet said his No. 1 hits included Ronnie Milsap’s “(There’s) No Getting’ Over Me,” Earl Thomas Conley’s “Holding Her and Loving You,” Travis Tritt’s “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde,” and Heartland’s “I Loved Her First.”
He also wrote hit songs for the likes of Tim McGraw and Reba McEntire.
Aldridge also had his own band, The Shooters, for which he served as lead singer and guitarist. Country Insider said the band managed to chart seven songs of its own.
He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017, and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2018.
Per Country Insider, his song writing prowess led to an estimated 60 million album sales across his four-decade career.
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