ELVIS SONGWRITER DIES

• 3rd Jan 2007

Influential but publicity shy songwriter Dennis Linde, the man behind Elvis'
1972 hit 'Burning Love' and the Dixie Chicks' 1999 song 'Goodbye Earl', has
died in Nashville aged 63. His family have confirmed to The Tennessean
newspaper that he died on 22 Dec after a battle with lung disease.

Unlike most other songwriters in the country genre, in which he primarily
worked, Linde wrote both the words and music for his songs. According to the
New York Times he drew artistic inspiration from a map of a fictitious town
where the characters of his many songs 'lived'. Talking about 'Burning
Love', Elvis' second highest charting single in the seventies, he told the
Times in 2005 that that song was inspired by his then recent marriage to Pam
Beckham, adding: “I was a newlywed, and 'Burning Love' was a great newlywed
title. I had it done in 20 minutes”.

Despite his successes, Linde famously tried to avoid public attention, often
staying away from award ceremonies, even when he knew he'd won. Paying
tribute to him, a spokesman for EMI Music Publishing, who represented him in
the latter years of his life, described Linde as “a publicist's nightmare
and a singer's dream”. His wife and three children survive him.

(Source:CMUMUSICDAILY)