Floor SpeechNeutral2024-09-18

MOURNING THE LOSS OF JOHN DAVID SOUTHER

Context

On 2024-09-18, Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) delivered a floor speech titled "MOURNING THE LOSS OF JOHN DAVID SOUTHER" in the House.

Full Text

Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 145 (Wednesday, September 18, 2024) [Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 145 (Wednesday, September 18, 2024)] [House] [Page H5329] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] MOURNING THE LOSS OF JOHN DAVID SOUTHER (Mr. COHEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.) Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, this morning I woke up to bad news. One of my friends, JD Souther, also known as John David Souther, a great singer, songwriter, and an actor to boot, passed away yesterday in New Mexico at the age of 78. JD wrote a lot of songs that the Eagles did and that Linda Ronstadt covered, and he performed some of them too. He did ``New Kid in Town.'' When I was elected to Congress, he came to Memphis with Jackson Browne to do what I considered probably the greatest fundraiser in history. It was a small house with a living room that had a little area above it, and the two of them did an hour concert for the few people they could cram into that living room. JD sang ``New Kid in Town'' about me saying that I am going to be the new kid in town in Congress and great expectations are thought of me. I think about that a lot. When I got elected, JD called me, and he said: Steve, you are going to the show. Well, the show is major league parlance for going to the major leagues, and we were both baseball fans. He was just a great guy. He was smart as hell. He is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He had a great voice and was so respected by musicians. I kind of got him from Warren Zevon. He was my pal, and Warren kind of willed him to me. Warren was dying, and he said: Steve, I have got a friend who is moving to Nashville, and you all should be friends. When I met him in Nashville, he said: I need to get something out of this, and I want to get married. Can you marry me? I could do marriages, and I married him at Burt Stein's house. Rodney Crowell was the only witness. The marriage didn't take, but I did the best job I could. JD was my friend and a great American songwriter. He will be missed. ____________________

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MOURNING THE LOSS OF JOHN DAVID SOUTHER Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 145 (Wednesday, September 18, 2024) [Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 145 (Wednesday, September 18, 2024)] [House] [Page H5329] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] MOURNING THE LOSS OF JOHN DAVID SOUTHER (Mr. COHEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.) Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, this morning I woke up to bad news. One of my friends, JD Souther, also known as John David Souther, a great singer, songwriter, and an actor to boot, passed away yesterday in New Mexico at the age of 78. JD wrote a lot of songs that the Eagles did and that Linda Ronstadt covered, and he performed some of them too. He did ``New Kid in Town.'' When I was elected to Congress, he came to Memphis with Jackson Browne to do what I considered probably the greatest fundraiser in history. It was a small house with a living room that had a little area above it, and the two of them did an hour concert for the few people they could cram into that living room. JD sang ``New Kid in Town'' about me saying that I am going to be the new kid in town in Congress and great expectations are thought of me. I think about that a lot. When I got elected, JD called me, and he said: Steve, you are going to the show. Well, the show is major league parlance for going to the major leagues, and we were both baseball fans. He was just a great guy. He was smart as hell. He is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He had a great voice and was so respected by musicians. I kind of got him from Warren Zevon. He was my pal, and Warren kind of willed him to me. Warren was dying, and he said: Steve, I have got a friend who is moving to Nashville, and you all should be friends. When I met him in Nashville, he said: I need to get something out of this, and I want to get married. Can you marry me? I could do marriages, and I married him at Burt Stein's house. Rodney Crowell was the only witness. The marriage didn't take, but I did the best job I could. JD was my friend and a great American songwriter. He will be missed. ____________________