Legendary Songwriter Don Schlitz Passes at 73: The Mastermind Behind Kenny Rogers’ Iconic Hit

Renowned country music songwriter and performer Don Schlitz, celebrated for his legendary hit “The Gambler,” has passed away at the age of 73.

The Grand Ole Opry shared the news of Schlitz’s passing on Friday, as reported by Page Six.

While details of a sudden illness were mentioned, the exact cause of his death has not been revealed.

Expressing her sorrow, Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern stated, “We are heartbroken by the news of Don Schlitz’s passing. Don cherished his family, his North Carolina roots, and above all, his passion for songs and songwriters. He infused that love into every space he entered, every stage he graced, and every lyric he penned.”

Trahern fondly recalled a dinner with Schlitz, where he concluded the evening by picking up a guitar and serenading the attendees.

‘That is how I will always remember him, smiling and with a guitar in his hand,’ she continued. ‘His legacy lives on through his music and the many artists and writers he inspired. He will be deeply missed.’

Don Schlitz, the country music songwriter and performer best known for penning the iconic hit The Gambler, has died at 73. Schlitz’s death was announced Friday in a statement by the Grand Ole Opry, according to Page Six; pictured in 2012 at his Songwriters Hall of Fame induction

He was said to have died after a sudden illness. Kenny Rogers had a career-changing hit in 1978 with Schlitz’s tune The Gambler, which was the first of 20 hits for the songwriter; Rogers (L) is seen presenting Schlitz with the ASCAP Creative Achievement Award in 2007

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young added: ‘Don Schlitz’s place as a songwriting great would be secure had he never written The Gambler or had he only written The Gambler. Nashville was richer for his presence and is lesser for his absence.’

Schlitz, who was born in 1952 in Durham, North Carolina, sealed his status as a star of country music when he wrote The Gambler in 1976.

The song, which he later said was inspired by the death of his father that year, took two years for him to pitch it around Nashville before it was first recorded by Bobby Bare. 

That version was only featured on Bare’s self-titled album and attracted little attention, so Schlitz went on to record it himself in 1978. 

Without any hits to his name, Schlitz’s own recording was mostly ignored, though it helped elevate the song’s profile enough to encourage Johnny Cash to cover it on his 1978 album Gone Girl.

Kenny Rogers, who had only recently gone solo after disbanding his country-rock group The First Edition, was also attracted to the tune, and it was his version of The Gambler that became the hit best known today. 

Schlitz would later credit Rogers and his producer, Larry Butler, with adjusting the song to fully realize its commercial potential, and the song skyrocketed to the top of the US Hot Country Songs Chart. 

It also topped out at number three on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Chart, and it reached a respectable number 16 on the Hot 100 singles chart. 

For his contributions, Schlitz was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame; pictured in 2012 in Nashville, Tenn.

In 2022, his status as country royalty was cemented when he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, after making his debut at the Opry in 2017. The legendary venue paid tribute to Schlitz with a show dedicated to him on Saturday; pictured in 2017 in Nashville

The Gambler was eventually certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and it proved to be a major crossover hit with mainstream audiences.

Rogers, who inducted Schlitz into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012, praised his old collaborator by saying, ‘Don doesn’t just write songs. He writes careers.’

After notching his first hit, Schlitz would go on to pen 19 more, including Randy Travis’s Forever And Ever, Amen (co-written with Paul Overstreet), The Judds’ I Know Where I’m Going, Mary Chapin Carpenter’s He Thinks He’ll Keep Her and When You Say Nothing At All, which proved to be a hit for multiple artists. 

For his contributions, Schlitz was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. 

Schlitz would collaborate again with Rogers in 1998, when he wrote the hit song The Greatest, and Rogers would return to his tunes again for his 2013 album You Can’t Make Old Friends. 

Schlitz continued to record his own music with two studio albums: 1980’s Dreamers’ Matinee and the 2010 LP Allergic To Crazy. He also released a live album, Live At The Bluebird Café, in 2001. 

In 2022, his status as country royalty was cemented when he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, after making his debut at the Opry in 2017. 

The legendary venue paid tribute to Schlitz with a show dedicated to him on Saturday. 

Schlitz is survived by his wife Stacey, as well as his daughter Cory Dixon, his son Pete Schlitz, his four grandchildren, and two siblings, his brother Brad Schlitz and sister Kathy Hinkley.