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He died of natural causes in Clarksville, Tennessee at the age of 81.
One of his most enduring songs, “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” rocketed him to fame while his songs helped other artists gain top hits in the genre.
Countrysinger-songwriter Ed Bruce died on January 8. At the age of 81, he died of natural causes in Clarksville, Tennessee, with news of his passing shared by his publicist. One of his earliest and most enduring hits came from the song he penned, “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”
Bruce’s
careerspanned over six decades in the music and entertainment industry where he worked as a singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. In 2018, the University of Little Rock honored the Arkansas native with the Arkansas Country Music Award for “Lifetime Achievement.”
Clarksville NowEd Bruce, country singer-songwriter, dies in Clarksville at 81.
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Ed Bruce, a country music songwriter renowned for writing chart-topping hits such as “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” died in Clarksville on Friday, Jan. 8 at the age of 81.
Bruce was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, AFTRA, and the Musician’s Union, dabbling in several realms of entertainment during his 64-year career.
Beginnings
Born William Edwin Bruce Jr. on Dec. 29, 1939, in Keiser, Arkansas, the songwriter and musician was raised in Memphis. When he was 17, Sun Records owner and record producer Sam Phillips took notice of Bruce and promptly signed him to the label.
Country Singer Ed Bruce Who Co-Wrote Mammas Don t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys Dies at 81 People 1/9/2021
Iconic country star Ed Bruce has died. He was 81.
Bruce died of natural causes Friday, PEOPLE confirms. Throughout his decades-long career, he had become widely known as a country music legend with several hit songs, including all-time classic Mammas Don t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys, which he co-wrote with his then-wife Patsy Bruce before the pair ultimately divorced in 1987. In 1982, he released You re the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had, featuring Lynn Anderson and it became country s No. 1 hit. The song charted for 21 weeks.
A teenager at Sun
Born in Keiser, Arkansas in 1939, Bruce was a Memphis resident of only 17 when he approached Cowboy Jack Clement and eventually Sam Phillips and ended up recording the rockabilly single “Rock Boppin’ Baby” for the Sun label, then under the name of Edwin Bruce.
“Rockin’ Boppin’ Baby” was released in 1957, but it wasn’t until 1966 that Bruce began to appear on country charts. His own version of “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” preceded Willie Nelson’s and represented his first entry into the Top 20, at No.15 in 1975.
Ed Bruce co-wrote “Mammas…” with his then-wife Patsy. It was also recorded by country star Chris LeDoux in 1976 before Nelson and Jennings memorably got to it in 1978. Their version, from the album