Celebrated Nashville Hitmaker Tony Haselden Dead at 79

Tony Haselden, who shot to fame as a member of the rock group LeRoux in the 1970s before becoming an acclaimed country songwriter and producer in Nashville, has died.

Townsquare Media station 97.3 The Dawg reports that Haselden died on Friday night (May 16) at the age of 79, citing a Facebook post from Louisiana Jukebox Cafe.

Born in South Carolina, Haselden moved to Louisiana, where he helped launch LeRoux in 1978.

The singer-songwriter and guitarist was a major contributor to the band, writing its highest-charting mainstream hit, “Nobody Said It Would Be Easy,” in 1978.

The band went on hiatus in 1984, and Haselden made his way to Nashville, where he built a very successful career as a songwriter and producer.

The guitarist wrote No. 1 songs for several top country artists, including “That’s My Story (And I’m Stickin’ To It)” for Collin Raye, Keith Whitley‘s “It Ain’t Nothin’” and “You Know Me Better Than That” by George Strait.

Shania Twain, Reba McEntire, Billy Ray Cyrus, Michelle Wright, Martina McBride, Shelby Lynne, Shenandoah, Doug Stone and more are also among the many country stars who recorded Haselden’s songs.

Haselden also produced the Kinleys and the Wilkinsons.

The guitarist rejoined LeRoux in later years when the group resumed performing and recording, and he was still with the group at the time of his death, serving as one of the last remaining members from the band’s classic era.

Haselden was inducted into both the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame and the LMHOF Songwriters’ Association Hall of Fame in 2010, according to LeRoux’s website.

LeRoux confirmed Haselden’s death by sharing Louisiana Jukebox Cafe’s original post to Facebook:

Tony Haselden’s cause of death has not yet been reported, and no funeral plans have been announced.