Dallas Frazier, the Grammy-winning songwriter behind songs including The Oak Ridge Boys’ “Elvira,” George Jones’ “If My Heart Had Windows,” and Connie Smith’s “Ain’t Love a Good Thing,” has died at a rehabilitation facility in Gallatin, Tennessee. He was 82.
Confirmed by his daughter, Frazier’s death came after he had suffered two strokes since August.
Frazier began his successful career of songwriting at the age of 14, building a name and reputation that earned him three Grammy nominations for working on “There Goes My Everything,” “All I Have To Offer You (Is Me),” and “Elvira.”
In 1976, Frazier was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
“I’ve noticed this all my life in writing songs, there’s a thing called feel, and it’s magic when you get ahold of it,” he had said in an interview from 2018. “It can make or break a record. You can have a great song and all, but if it doesn’t have that feel, it just doesn’t do anything.”
Kyle Young, the CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, made a statement following Frazier’s passing.
“Dallas Frazier is among the greatest country songwriters of all time,” he shared. “He was a man of kindness, generosity, and faith, who overcame a hardscrabble upbringing to offer smiling gifts to all of us. He lived a beautiful life of a beautiful mind.”
Frazier is survived by his sister Judy Shults, wife Sharon Carpani Frazier, their daughters Melody Morris, Robin Proetta, and Allison Thompson, four grandchildren, and one great-grandson.
—
Photo credit: Tancha / Shutterstock.com