'TOBACCO ROAD' SONGWRITER, JOHN D. LOUDERMILK, DIES
Sep 23, 2016
By Bob Komsic
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While you likely never recall hearing his name, many Zoomers have heard his work.
John D. Loudermilk, who made some rockabilly records in the 1950s, made a name for himself in the music business in the 1960s and 70s.
After moving to Nashville from his native North Carolina, he wrote all kinds of songs – ”Ebony Eyes” for the Everly Brothers, ”Tobacco Road” which Loudermilk first recorded and then was covered by The Nashville Teens and others, ”Abilene”, which he co-wrote and became the biggest hit for George Hamilton IV, and ”Indian Reservation ( The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian),” a number 1 hit for Paul Revere and the Raiders.
John Loudermilk died of a heart attack at age 82.
He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1976.