Walt Aldridge, the celebrated songwriter behind country music chart-toppers such as Ronnie Milsap’s “(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me,” died Wednesday, Nov. 19, following “a long and courageous battle with illness.” He was 70 years old.
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Muscle Shoals-based FAME Recording Studios & Publishing Co., where Aldridge spent 17 years as a staff songwriter, musician, and engineer, confirmed his passing in a Facebook post. “We are deeply saddened to say that our dear friend and colleague Walt Aldridge has passed away,” it read. “We cannot possibly put into words how much Walt meant to the the FAME family!”
Born Nov. 12, 1955, in Florence, Alabama, James Walton Aldridge, Jr. enjoyed immense success during his six decades in music. He penned smash hits for everyone from Lou Reed to Reba McEntire. Aldridge also spent 10 years as a professor in the entertainment industry department at the University of North Alabama.
He is survived by wife Stephanie, six children, and nine grandchildren.
Walt Aldridge’s Songwriting “Carried” Muscle Shoals in the ’80s
Perhaps Walt Aldridge himself best summed up his songwriting career in an interview with AL.com. “I’ve always, laughing, said, I think I’m the only songwriter in the world who’s had songs recorded by both Lou Reed and Conway Twitty,” he told the outlet in 2018.
We lost a Muscle Shoals titan today. Walt Aldridge damn near single-handedly kept the “scene” alive in the 80s. Walt had a million hits recorded by other artists, but The Shooters record slapped. https://t.co/T3eaPUiq2i
— Blake Ells (@blakeells) November 19, 2025
Written by Aldridge, Reed performed “My Love is Chemical” on the soundtrack to White Nights, the 1985 Cold War musical drama starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines. This is just one of countless memorable pieces from Aldridge’s prolific six-decade career. His No. 1 song include 1996’s “The Fear of Being Alone” by Reba McEntire, Travis Tritt’s “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde” (2000), and Heartland’s 2006 hit “I Loved Her First.”
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“There was a time in the 80’s when Walt’s songwriting along with Robert Byrne, Tommy Brasfield and Mac McAnally carried the most of the weight of the Muscle Shoals Music industry through a difficult time in our history,” FAME’s tribute post read.
Additionally, Aldridge charted several singles in the late ’80s as lead vocalist of country band The Shooters. He was a member of both the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
Featured image by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images
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