Influential but publicity shy songwriter Dennis Linde, the man behind Elvis' 1972 hit 'Burning Love' and the Dixie Chicks' 1999 song 'Goodbye Earl', has died in Nashville aged 63. His family have confirmed to The Tennessean newspaper that he died on 22 Dec after a battle with lung disease.
Unlike most other songwriters in the country genre, in which he primarily worked, Linde wrote both the words and music for his songs. According to the New York Times he drew artistic inspiration from a map of a fictitious town where the characters of his many songs 'lived'. Talking about 'Burning Love', Elvis' second highest charting single in the seventies, he told the Times in 2005 that that song was inspired by his then recent marriage to Pam Beckham, adding: "I was a newlywed, and 'Burning Love' was a great newlywed title. I had it done in 20 minutes".
Despite his successes, Linde famously tried to avoid public attention, often staying away from award ceremonies, even when he knew he'd won. Paying tribute to him, a spokesman for EMI Music Publishing, who represented him in the latter years of his life, described Linde as "a publicist's nightmare and a singer's dream". His wife and three children survive him.