Songwriter Steve Young Dead at 73

Steve Young, writer of the Eagles' hit "Seven Bridges Road," has died. He passed away, at the age of 73, on Thursday night (March 17) in Nashville.

Young was born in Newnan, Ga., on July 12, 1942, and grew up in several Southern states, including Alabama, Georgia and Texas. By the time he graduated from high school, Young had already delved into the craft of songwriting, with his output heavily influenced by folk, blues and gospel -- the sounds of the states in which he lived.

Young moved to Los Angeles, Calif., in 1964 and worked with musicians such as Van Dyke Parks and Stephen Stills before briefly playing with a psychedelic country-folk band called Stone Country. His first album, Rock Salt & Nails, on A&M, featured Gram Parsons, Gene Clark and other notable singers.

Young settled into the country outlaw sound that was becoming popular in the 1970s, and his songs were recorded by several stars: "Montgomery in the Rain" by Hank Williams Jr. and "Seven Bridges Road" by the Eagles, though he once admitted that he didn't like their version at first.

“I thought it was too bluegrassy, too gospel," Young said. "But the more I hear it, the better it sounds.”

In 1973, Waylon Jennings cut "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean," which Travis Tritt covered in 2003.

On Oct. 23, Young fell and suffered a brain injury, according to his son Jubal Lee Young's Facebook page; the accident happened just days after Jubal Lee was eliminated from The Voice. The elder Young was in the ICU, then rehab. He went home on Jan. 29 and, sadly, was placed in hospice care just a few days before his passing.

“My father, Steve Young, passed peacefully tonight in Nashville," Jubal Lee Young shared on Facebook. "While it is a sad occasion, he was also the last person who could be content to be trapped in a broken mind and body. He was far too independent and adventurous. I celebrate his freedom, as well, and I am grateful for the time we had. A true original.”

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