Country music legend John Anderson has died at the age of 71. Anderson was the voice behind modern country classics such as Seminole Wind and Swingin’ – and was a member of both the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In a statement, his family said, “To the world, he was a gifted country music singer whose voice and songs touched countless lives. To us, he was so much more. He was the heart of our family, the one who made us laugh, loved us fiercely, and made every ordinary moment feel special.”
Anderson had the gift that all country greats share; all he needed was three minutes to tell a great story in song, to take you into the history of his native Florida, or into interpersonal dramas in a honky-tonk dive bar. But he was no cookie-cutter performer from out of central casting. Anderson approached country music from an angle. He saw things differently.
Latest Videos FromGuitar World
Born in Apopka, Florida, Anderson’s first love was rock ’n’ roll guitar. The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix were often cited as primary influences. Country came a little later. Anderson was never one to be tied down by genre conventions. In a 1997 interview with CMT.com, he said, “The most essential thing is having the creative freedom to do what you need to do.”
To do what he needed to do, Anderson skedaddled over to Nashville, Tennessee upon graduating from high school and found himself fixing the roof on the Grand Ole Opry before playing under it. But success soon came. Anderson was picked up by Warner Bros and scored his first hit with I’ve Got a Feelin’ (Somebody’s Been Stealin’) in 1977. Country had a new voice.
After a successful support slot for Merle Haggard, his self-titled debut album arrived in 1980, and with it a string of country hits, most notably 1959, which scored him his first Top 10 (it charted at No 7) and was later covered by the late John Prine on the 2022 John Anderson tribute album Something Borrowed, Something New.
Anderson was nominated for a Grammy for I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal (But I’m Gonna Be a Diamond Someday) The release of 1982’s Wild & Blue really helped establish him. He was one of the leading voices of country’s New Traditionalists.
Blake Shelton was among the first to pay tribute to Anderson.
“I am sick and stunned,” wrote Shelton on Instagram. “But I am a very lucky man. I got the opportunity to find out that my hero wasn’t just the guy I hoped he’d be. He was so much more than that.
“John was my friend. I got to see him last Sunday and I don’t even know why but I told him I loved him. That is what fills my heart in this moment. My love and prayers go out to John’s family. This one really hurts.”
![John Anderson – Years [Official Video] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_FARZGM8Wk0/maxresdefault.jpg "Country guitar legend John Anderson dies, aged 71 19")
Anderson was a battler. He all but lost his hearing during a period of ill health in 2017, but made a triumphant recovery to record Years in 2020 with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and the legendary David R. Ferguson.
Arguably, he had never sounded better. Most would agree the title track is a modern country classic.
