Mickey Newbury
Singer-songwriter
Among those who have recorded some of his 500 often melancholy, literate songs are Willie Nelson, Joan Baez, Don Gibson B.B. King, Ray Charles, Eddie Arnold, Jerry Lee Lewis, Keith Richards, Perry Como and Nick Cave.
His most well-known one is "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)," a psychedelic pop song that was a No. 5 hit for Kenny Rogers & The First Edition in 1968.
Other Newbury songs include "Funny, Familiar, Forgotten Feelings" (recorded by Gibson), "Sunshine" (recorded by Charles), "Here Comes the Rain Baby" (recorded by Arnold) and "She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye" (recorded by Lewis).
Newbury himself recorded for several record labels during his career, most successfully for Elektra, which released "An American Trilogy" in 1971 and scored a Top 40 hit. The innovative arrangement of "Dixie," "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "All My Trials" became a staple of Presley's shows.
Houston native was childhood friends with Rogers, moved to Nashville after serving in the Air Force and became friends with others early in their career, including Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Roger Miller.
In 1968, four Newbury songs simultaneously held the No. 1 spot on the pop, country, R&B and easy-listening charts, including "Just Dropped In."
He stopped recording and performing for most of the 1980s but finally released an album in 1988 and in 1998 reissued his '60s and '70s albums in an eight-CD set. His most recent album, "Winter Winds," was released in February; another was finished before his death.
Survivors include his wife, Susan; five children; his mother; and a brother.
