Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

James Weatherly, Midnight Train to Georgia songwriter, dies aged 77

Jim Weatherly performed at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards in New York in 2014.
2014 Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards
Jim Weatherly performed at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards in New York in 2014. 2014 Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards

The American singer-songwriter who wrote the hit Midnight Train to Georgia has died at the age of 77.

Singer-songwriter James Dexter Weatherly died at his home in Brentwood, Tennessee, on Wednesday morning.

He is remembered for his prolific music career with classics including Midnight Train to Georgia, (You’re The) Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me and Someone Else’s Star.

Born on March 17, 1943, in Pontotoc, Mississippi, he began writing songs as a teenager.

He later attended  the University of Mississippi where he became a quarterback and in 1962 his team Ole Miss won the national championship.

However, the star player decided to pursue a career in music over American football after graduating.

He wrote some of Gladys Knight and the Pips’ greatest hits, including Neither One of Us Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye and You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me.

In 2003 Midnight Train to Georgia was named one of the top 500 songs of all time by Rolling Stones magazine.

He was also a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and ASCAP’s County Songwriter of the Year in 1974.

Many of his songs were used in popular television shows and movies over the years including Broadcast News, The Deer Hunter, Modern Family, Chicago Hope and Ally McBeal.

Musician Bryan White was among those to pay their respects to the singer-songwriter on social media.

His Facebook post stated: “Jim Weatherly was one of my dear friends of over 25 years. What a massive and long spanning career this man had. His work will be heard forever.

“I started writing songs with Jim just after Marty Gamblin signed me to Glen Campbell Music way back when. I’m so grateful to Marty for introducing me to such an extraordinarily talented human being.

“Most of all, a very kind and gracious human being. We wrote a lot of songs together and I sang a lot of demos for him. So many great memories rush back when we lose friends we love.”

Jim Weatherly is survived by his wife, Cynthia, daughter Brighton and son Zack.