Don Schlitz, storied country songwriter behind such hits as 'The
Gambler,' dies at 73
[April 18, 2026]
By MARIA SHERMAN
NEW YORK (AP) — Don Schlitz, the storied country music songwriter known
for such hits as “The Gambler,” “On the Other Hand” and “Forever and
Ever, Amen,” died Thursday at a Nashville hospital. He was 73.
The cause of death was not immediately known. A press release from the
Grand Ole Opry described it as a sudden illness.
The two-time Grammy Award winner was inducted into the Songwriters Hall
of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music
Hall of Fame. “I will never be able to believe that I deserve this,
unless I receive it as a representative of my family, my mentors, my
collaborators, my promoters and my friends,” Schlitz said in 2017, when
he learned of the Country Music Hall of Fame honor. “That’s the only way
I can deal with this.”
Schlitz made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2017 and was later inducted in
2022. He is the only non-artist to receive the honor in the Opry’s 100
years. The historic venue's Saturday night show will be dedicated in his
honor.
He was named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year for four consecutive
years, from 1988 through 1991. He also wrote music and lyrics for “The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” the 1999 Broadway musical.
Schlitz's songs are widely considered some of the most unwavering in
country music, and have been recorded by such hitmakers as Kenny Rogers
(“The Gambler,” “The Greatest”), Randy Travis (“On the Other Hand,”
“Forever and Ever, Amen”), The Judds (“I Know Where I’m Going”), The
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (“I Love Only You,”) Tanya Tucker (“I Won’t Take
Less Than Your Love,”) Mary Chapin Carpenter (“He Thinks He’ll Keep
Her”) and many others.
He also wrote “You Can’t Make Old Friends” for Rogers and Dolly Parton;
their first duet since 1983's “Islands in the Stream.”
Schlitz, a North Carolina native, was born in 1952 and raised in Durham
before packing his bags and heading to Nashville. His first recorded
song, “The Gambler,” is perhaps his most enduring hit and the tent-pole
of his legacy. The song, which was recorded by Rogers in 1978 and
certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA), opened doors for country music in the '70s, a track that
was not only a huge genre hit but also a pop crossover one.
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Songwriter Don Schlitz speaks at a news conference announcing him as
an inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame, in Nashville,
Tenn., on April 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
 As Rogers said when he inducted
Schlitz into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012, “Don doesn’t just
write songs. He writes careers.”
“We are heartbroken by the news of the passing of Don Schlitz. Don
loved his family, his home state of North Carolina, and above all,
songs and songwriters. He carried that love into every room, every
stage and every lyric he ever wrote,” Sarah Trahern, Country Music
Association CEO, wrote in a statement Friday. “Not long ago, we
shared a dinner, and as we were leaving, Don picked up a guitar and
began to play. That is how I will always remember him, smiling and
with a guitar in his hand. His legacy lives on through his music and
the many artists and writers he inspired. He will be deeply missed.”
“Don Schlitz’s place as a songwriting great would be secure had he
never written ‘The Gambler’ or had he only written ‘The Gambler,’”
Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, wrote
in a statement Friday. “Nashville was richer for his presence and is
lesser for his absence.”
Schlitz is survived by his wife Stacey, daughter Cory Dixon and her
husband Matt Dixon, son Pete Schlitz and his wife Christian Webb
Schlitz, grandchildren Roman, Gia, Isla and Lilah, brother Brad
Schlitz and sister Kathy Hinkley.
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