BMI is saddened by the passing of Dewayne Blackwell, co-writer of one of the most popular songs in modern music history, “Friends in Low Places,” recorded by country star Garth Brooks in 1990. The legendary recording took Single of the Year at both the CMA and ACM Awards, and it also earned the legendary scribe a GRAMMY nod.
Friends in Low Places Songwriter Dewayne Blackwell Dead at 84 lonestar995fm.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lonestar995fm.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Dewayne Blackwell, an iconic songwriter who co-wrote Garth Brooks country megahit Friends in Low Places, has died. Music Row reports that Blackwell died on Sunday (May 23) at the age of 84.
According to his profile on the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame website, Blackwell was born in 1936 in Corpus Christi, Texas, as one of eight children to parents who were Dust Bowl migrants. The family later moved to California, and Blackwell worked as an itinerant crop picker as a child alongside his family.
According to Music Row, he began playing in bars with his brother when he was 14 before dropping out of school and moving to Alaska, where he worked as a stevedore and longshoreman and began writing songs.