Towering Songwriter, Alan Jackson Co-Writer Jim McBride Has Died

Alan Jackson became a country music Hall of Famer singing them. But it was his long-time behind-the-scenes songwriting partner Jim McBride who was responsible for co-writing so many of the most important songs to Alan Jackson, and the ’90s decade. “Chatahoochee,” “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow,” “Someday,” and more became mainstays of the Alan Jackson catalog, and helped vault Jim McBride into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

All of Jim McBride’s chart-topping success didn’t start with Alan Jackson though. It was the culmination of many years of struggle as an aspiring songwriter building up his resume that finally paid off in ’90s country gold.

From bonafide country legends like George Jones, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings, to ’80s country stalwarts like Alabama and Reba McEntire, to Alan Jackson contemporaries like Randy Travis and Lonestar, they all tapped into the tracks of Jim McBride. This is what ultimately accumulated McBride six #1 songs, ten more Top 10 singles, and an additional 18 Top 40 hits. He also secured five Grammy nominations throughout his career.

Jimmy Rae McBride was born on April 28th, 1947 as the descendant of sharecroppers in Huntsville, Alabama. He grew up listening to country music on the radio, including the Saturday night ritual of gathering around the console to hear the Grand Ole Opry.

From early on, McBride was mostly interested in the songwriting aspect of country music, reading about songs in the magazine Country Song Roundup. Hank Williams and Don Gibson were his heroes. McBride started writing country songs at the age of 12, and after graduating from high school in 1965, began writing songs full-time.

Unfortunately for McBride though, the world wasn’t ready for his songs. Though he worked with the legendary songwriter Curly Putnam as a mentor, McBride failed to secure any suitors in Nashville aside from The Hagers who played a few of his songs on Hee Haw. So Jim took a job at the Post Office where he worked for 14 years and put his songwriting aspirations to the side.

It was the song “A Bridge That Just Won’t Burn” that brought Jim McBride out of obscurity. He co-wrote the song with well-known songwriter Roger Murrah, telling Murrah if the song got cut, he’d quit the Post Office and move to Nashville. When Conway Twitty recorded it and took the song to #3 in 1980, McBride fulfilled his promise the day after Christmas.

Johnny Lee was the first to take a Jim McBride song to #1 with “Bet Your Heart On Me” in 1981. McBride would make it to #1 again with the Waylon Jennings version of “Rose in Paradise” in 1987—Waylon’s final #1. This led to McBride meeting a young singer and songwriter fresh into Nashville from Georgia in 1988 named Alan Jackson. Hungry for major success, they wrote the aspirational “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow” together. The song became a #2 hit, and a working relationship between the two was forged.

Jim McBride also co-wrote “She Don’t Get The Blues” and “Short Sweet Ride” for Alan Jackson’s debut album Here in the Real World (1990). McBride then co-wrote “That’s All I Need To Know,” “Someday,” and “Just Playin’ Possum” for Don’t Rock the Jukebox (1991). The for Jackson’s 1992 album A Lot about Livin (and a Little ’bout Love), Jim McBride co-wrote “(Who Says) You Can’t Have It All,” “Tropical Depression,” “If It Ain’t One Thing (It’s You),” along with a little song called “Chatahoochee.”

“Chatahoochee” would go on to win the CMA for both Single of the Year and Song of the Year, as well as the ACM Single of the Year, and become one of the most beloved songs in country music history. McBride would continue to write songs with Jackson on subsequent albums as Alan minted a Hall of Fame career.

Wade Hayes, Diamond Rio, Vern Gosdin, Pam Tillis, Johnny PayCheck, Kris Kristofferson, and many more also recorded Jim McBride songs at one time or another. His Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame induction came in 2017.

Jim McBride passed away on January 6th at the age of 78, leaving behind a strong legacy of country songs that are sure to inspire and inform the next generation of writers, just like Jim was inspired listening to the Opry, reading about his heroes in magazines, and taking what he learned to pass the torch of touching people through country songs to the next generation.

UPDATE: On January 8th, Alan Jackson said in tribute, “Jim was a good man and a great and genuine songwriter. He understood country music and touched many with his songs. Jim and I wrote some of my favorite songs together and I don’t know if my career would have ended up quite the same without his help, inspiration, and encouragement in my early years. Thank you Jim, rest in peace. – AJ”

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