John Hadley, Nashville Songwriter Behind George Jones and Waylon Jennings Hits, Dead at 83

The global creative community lost a multi-talented member on December 18, 2024, when prolific Nashville songwriter, comedian, and visual artist John Hadley died at the age of 83. A Renaissance man if ever there was one, Hadley penned countless hits for country stars dating back to the 1970s.

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Like so many great songwriters of Music City, USA, Hadley enjoyed a backstage role in the creative process. Although he rarely performed live and didn’t boast major celebrity, members of the scene sought Hadley out for his ability to craft creative, witty, and enduring tracks.

John Hadley Mastered Multiple Art Mediums

John Hadley’s first foray with show business began in the late 1960s on the CBS comedy and variety show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Hadley was a sketch writer as well as an occasional actor. His time on the popular variety show put him in the same circles as iconic musical acts of the day like Pete Seeger, the Who, and Buffalo Springfield, who performed on the show.

While he was working at CBS, Hadley was also dedicated to his career in visual art in Oklahoma. From 1965 to 1987, he was an art professor at the University of Oklahoma, developing his successful artistic aesthetic while guiding others on how to do the same. Hadley used humor and wit in his charcoal drawings and paintings, blending elements of cartoons, pop art, and musical humor to create his distinct style.

According to a 2011 story in The Oklahoman, Hadley left his successful art career to write “nearly 1,000 songs” with “over 18 million of his songs sold worldwide.” Hadley split his time between his native Oklahoma and Music City, USA, establishing his place in the Nashville scene. Hadley wrote George Jones’ “Still the Same Ol Me,” Garth Brooks’ “Scarecrow,” the Chicks’ “Wide Open Spaces,” Waylon Jennings’ “The Eagle, and more.

The Accomplished Songwriter Said It Best Himself

John Hadley might have had a prolific career in the musical and visual art worlds, but he wasn’t necessarily a “celebrity” as we would typically define one. Hadley died on December 18, 2024, but the first mention of his death appears to be one week later, on December 24, by Saving Country Music. The news of his passing was first relayed by those in his inner circle, not the media.

Headlines might not be flooding news outlets with remembrances of this influential and enduring member of the Nashville scene, but we doubt Hadley would’ve cared. Before his death, Hadley penned a brief, tongue-in-cheek poem that his friend, Donald Lipski, shared with Saving Country Music. So, we’ll let the writer say it best:

You’re looking at one of 2000 writers
Who had a song that got cut by George Jones.
You can laugh and call me a liar,
But I’ve got the record at home.

If I die tomorrow, and it don’t make the papers,
If I go out cold and alone,
You’ll still find my name under the title
Of a song that got cut by George Jones.

Photo by Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images