Loudermilk, John D., 1934-2016

Country music songwriter. Born March 31, 1934. Songwriting credits include "A Rose and a Baby Ruth," "Waterloo," "Tobacco Road," "Ebony Eyes," "Talk Back Trembling Lips," "Break My Mind," "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Indian)," and "Abilene." Member, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

John D. Loudermilk started his music career in his native North Carolina under the pseudonym Johnny Dee. After reassuming his birth name and moving to Nashville, Tenn., his commercial success as a songwriter for Acuff-Rose Publications earned him a spot in the Nashville Songwriters Association International's Hall of Fame. In addition to maintaining his songwriting career, Loudermilk also actively supported folk and country music through his participation in folk festivals, his involvement with the Southern Folk Cultural Revival Project, and his role as producer of a 1980 album by Chet Atkins and Doc Watson. The John D. Loudermilk collection includes papers, photographs, audio recordings, posters, and artifacts.

John D. Loudermilk (1934 - ), a widely-recognized songwriter, performer, and producer, was born in Durham, N.C. Under the name Johnny Dee, he began singing on the weekly Little Johnny Dee radio show by age 13. Loudermilk continued to sing and record his own songs throughout his career; however, he is primarily known for his work as a songwriter. His first major hit song, A Rose and a Baby Ruth, was recorded by fellow North Carolinian George Hamilton IV in 1956. In 1958, Loudermilk moved to Nashville, where he was hired as Chet Atkins's assistant. After a brief period with Cedarwood Publishing, Loudermilk spent the 1960s writing for Acuff-Rose Publishing. During the 1960s and 1970s, Loudermilk became known as one of the most prolific of the Nashville songwriters; his songs were recorded by Roy Acuff Jr., Ernie Ashworth, Chet Atkins, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, the Everly Brothers, Marianne Faithfull, George Hamilton IV, Stonewall Jackson, Robert Mitchum, the Nashville Teens, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Sue Thompson, Johnny Tillotson, Tracey Ullman, Bobby Vee, Porter Wagoner, and others. Loudermilk was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Association International's Hall of Fame in 1976.