Roger Dale Bowling (December 3, 1944 – December 26, 1982) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

who specialized in

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, ...

Biography

Bowling was born in Helton,

Leslie County, Kentucky Leslie County is located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Hyden. Leslie is a prohibition or dry county. History Leslie County was founded in 1878. It was named for Preston H. Leslie, Governor of Kentucky (1871-1875). The Hur ...

. As a recording artist, he placed seven singles on the '' Billboard'' country chart, all with songs he co-wrote. His highest-charting single as an artist was "Yellow Pages", which peaked at number 30 in 1981. He also performed the opening theme song "Heal It" ( Byron Hill/ Mike Reid), and the closing credits song "Friday Night Fool" (which he wrote) for the feature film ''

The Exterminator ''The Exterminator'' is a 1980 American vigilante action film written and directed by James Glickenhaus. It stars Robert Ginty as Vietnam War veteran John Eastland, also known as "The Exterminator". When a group of thugs paralyze his friend, Ea ...

'' (1980), on Embassy Pictures. He committed suicide in

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations * Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People * Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer * Wiley Mil ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

at age 38, after being diagnosed with

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

a year earlier.

Work

His best-known songs include: * " Blanket on the Ground" a number one hit for

Billie Jo Spears Billie Jo Spears (born Billie Joe Moore; January 14, 1938 – December 14, 2011) was an American country music singer. She reached the top 10 of the country music chart five times between 1969 and 1977, her biggest being "Blanket on the Ground", ...

in 1975 * " Lucille" (co-written with

Hal Bynum Harold L. Bynum (September 29, 1934 – June 2, 2022) was an American songwriter associated with the Outlaw country movement in the 1970s. Bynum wrote more than 200 songs for popular country artists, including Kenny Rogers (" Lucille"), Patty L ...

), a number one hit for

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

and named CMA Song Of The Year in 1977 * "

Coward of the County "Coward of the County" is a song written by Roger Bowling and Billy Edd Wheeler, and recorded by American country music singer Kenny Rogers. The song was released in November 1979 as the second single from Rogers' multi-platinum album ''Kenny''. ...

" (co-written with

Billy Edd Wheeler Billy Edward "Edd" Wheeler (born December 9, 1932, Boone County, West Virginia, United States) is an American songwriter, performer, writer, and visual artist. His songs include " Jackson" (Grammy award winner for Johnny Cash and June Carter ...

), a number one hit for Kenny Rogers in 1979 * "I'd Like To Sleep Til I Get Over You", a number five hit for

Freddie Hart Frederick Segrest (December 21, 1926 – October 27, 2018), known professionally as Freddie Hart, was an American country musician and songwriter best known for his chart-topping country song and lone pop hit "Easy Loving," which won the Co ...

in 1975 * "

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

" (co-written with George Richey and

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger best known for his association with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Gl ...

), a number five hit for

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

in 1977 * " '57 Chevrolet" in 1972

References

1944 births 1982 suicides 1982 deaths 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American singers American country singer-songwriters Country musicians from Kentucky People from Harlan, Kentucky People from Leslie County, Kentucky Singer-songwriters from Kentucky {{US-composer-20thC-stub