John Jarrard (May 7, 1953 February 1, 2001) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

songwriter. He wrote songs for

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number ...

, and others.

Biography

John Jarrard was born in

Gainesville, Georgia The city of Gainesville is the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it is often called the "Poultry Capital of t ...

on May 7, 1953. He worked as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

in his hometown, and moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

in 1974 after being persuaded by a girlfriend to attend a convention there. While in Nashville, he worked at a motel and recorded

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...

with his friend, songwriter Bruce Burch. Jarrard stopped working at the motel in 1979 after complications of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, which led to him losing his eyesight before suffering total kidney failure which required a transplant. His first No. 1 single as a songwriter was " Nobody but You" by

. Other artists who recorded his songs include

Tracy Lawrence Tracy Lee Lawrence (born January 27, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Texas, and raised in Foreman, Arkansas, Lawrence began performing at age 15 and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1 ...

, and

. Overall, Jarrard had 11 number ones on the country singles charts. Jarrard continued to be affected by diabetes, eventually undergoing a second kidney transplant and having both legs amputated in 1997. He died on February 1, 2001, of

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

Singles composed by Jarrard

— " There's No Way", " 'You've Got' the Touch", " We Can't Love Like This Anymore" *

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

— " Money in the Bank" * John Berry — "

What's in It for Me "What's in It for Me" is a song written by Gary Burr and John Jarrard, and recorded by American country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United Stat ...

" *

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...

— " I Sure Can Smell the Rain" *

Diamond Rio Diamond Rio is an American country music band. The band was founded in 1982 as an attraction for the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, and was originally known as the Grizzly River Boys, then the Tennessee River Boys. It was foun ...

— " Mirror, Mirror" *

The Forester Sisters The Forester Sisters were an American country music vocal group consisting of sisters Kathy, June, Kim, and Christy Forester. Having performed together locally in their native Lookout Mountain, Georgia, since the 1970s, the four sisters began si ...

— " Lonely Alone" * James House — "A Real Good Way to Wind Up Lonesome" *

— "

Is That a Tear "Is That a Tear" is a song written by John Jarrard and Kenny Beard, and recorded by American country music artist Tracy Lawrence. It was released on November 26, 1996 as the fourth and final single from his album '' Time Marches On''. It peaked a ...

" *

Neal McCoy Hubert Neal McGaughey Jr. (born July 30, 1958), known professionally as Neal McCoy, is an American country music singer. He has released 10 studio albums on various labels, and has released 34 singles to country radio. Although he first charted on ...

— " They're Playin' Our Song" *

Pirates of the Mississippi Pirates of the Mississippi were an American country music band founded in 1987 in Nashville, Tennessee. The original members were Bill McCorvey (lead vocals, guitar), Rich Alves (lead guitar, background vocals), Jimmy Lowe (drums), Pat Severs (st ...

— "Let the Joneses Win" *

Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Reco ...

— " Shouldn't It Be Easier Than This" *

Collin Raye Floyd Elliot Wray (born August 22, 1960) is an American country music singer, known professionally as Collin Raye, and previously as Bubba Wray. Under the latter name, he recorded as a member of the band The Wrays between 1983 and 1987. He made ...

— "

My Kind of Girl "My Kind of Girl" is a 1961 song originally released by Matt Monro. Monro's version reached number 5 on the UK's ''Record Retailer'' chart, while a version by Frank Sinatra and Count Basie reached number 35 the following year. Original version " ...

" * John Schneider — "

What's a Memory Like You (Doing in a Love Like This) "What's a Memory Like You (Doing in a Love Like This)" is a song written by Charles Quillen and John Jarrard, and recorded by actor and American country music artist John Schneider. It was released in December 1985 as the first single from the al ...

" *

— "

Blue Clear Sky ''Blue Clear Sky'' is the sixteenth studio album released on April 23, 1996 by American country music artist George Strait. Certified 3× Multi-Platinum in the U.S. for sales of three million copies, the album produced four singles. The title t ...

" *

Pam Tillis Pamela Yvonne Tillis (born July 24, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis and ex-wife of songwriter Bob DiPiero. Tillis recorded unsuccessful p ...

— " Deep Down" *

Rick Trevino Ricardo Treviño Jr. (born May 16, 1971) is an American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Nashville in 1993, Trevino began his career that year with the release of his debut single "Just Enough Rope", the first mainstream country music sin ...

— "See Rock City" *

— " Nobody but You"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarrard, John 1953 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American musicians American amputees American country songwriters American male songwriters American blind people Deaths from respiratory failure People from Gainesville, Georgia Respiratory disease deaths in Tennessee Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)