Photo: Brian Potter | Story by Adam Taylor, Wide Open Country | Brian Potter has sadly passed away at the age of 87. The British songwriter was behind countless hits during the 70s, including Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy” and the Four Tops’ “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got).
Potter had been battling vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s for multiple years. He died on June 30, at a residence in Granada Hills, his daughter, Courtney Potter, announced.
During his heyday, Potter also worked with Dennis Lambert on the Billy Jack theme song “One Tin Soldier. The duo also wrote music together during the early 70s, including “Don’t Pull Your Love” by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds.
“Lambert & Potter were honored with recent nominations to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and their work was very much a part of the soundtrack of a generation,” The Hollywood Reporter notes.
Potter first began working with other songwriters in 1965, partnering with Ian Samwell. The duo came up with “Whatcha Gonna Do About It,” which was performed by Small Faces. It wasn’t long after that track was released that Potter met Lambert.
At the time, Lambert was stationed with the US Army. However, once he was eventually discharged from duty, Potter made the decision to move across the globe to California. “One Tin Soldier” was the duo’s first major hit, setting them up for future success.
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Go here to read more about Mr. Potter’s life and song-writing skills:
https://www.wideopencountry.com/legend-behind-rhinestone-cowboy-dies-at-87/
Photo: Brian Potter circa 1990 | Courtesy of the Potter Family
https://www.billboard.com/pro/brian-potter-dead-songwriter-rhinestone-cowboy-producer/
OTHER NOTABLE MUSICIANS’ DEATHS
BREAKING NEWS: Bonnie Tyler, Total Eclipse of the Heart, dies at age 75. The Welsh rocker, whose real name was Gaynor Hopkins, died unexpectedly in hospital near her home in Faro, Portugal, where she was being treated for an illness, her family said.
‘Party Rock Anthem’ singer Lauren Bennett dead at 36
By Tracy Wright, Fox News | “Party Rock Anthem” singer Lauren Bennett, who was also a member of the group G.R.L., died in England, the BBC reported. She was 36.
Bennett reportedly died on May 29 in Meopham, Kent, roughly one hour outside of London. . . .
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Read more at:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/party-rock-anthem-singer-dead-at-36/
Warning Signs of Suicide – National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or if you want to discuss, call the old numbers at 800-273-TALK or 800-273-8255 for English and 888-628-9454 for Spanish. Learn the signs of someone who may be contemplating suicide.
Posting for my Veteran/singer/songwriter/musician friend Troy Hoss: Heavy on my heart so here goes: This is a very real problem … 22 Veterans a day surrender to their demons. #SuicideAwareness | Call Veteran’s Hotline: 988 #1 or 844-647-1354
From Care2 via Jock Bartley on Facebook: Trump shut down our LGBTQ+ suicide and mental health hotline, but CANADA opened a US toll-free number to theirs… so our citizens can get help anytime, at no cost: 1-877-330-6366
Kindness & empathy have no borders.
If you want to know more about any of the musicians we lost, find them at http://www.wikipedia.com
July 2026
8: Ella Laboriel, 77, Mexican singer.
7: Megas, 81, Icelandic singer.
6: Kevin Chown, 56, American bass guitarist (Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats, Artension, Tarja Turunen).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Chown
5: Teejan Bai, 69, Indian Pandavani singer; Beaky, 81, English musician (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich); Christian Moran, 42, English-Korean drummer.
4: Sparky D, 61, American rapper (Roxanne Wars); Roger “B. War” Svensson, 60, Swedish bassist (Marduk); Lothar Voigtländer, 82, German composer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparky_D
2: Tommy Hunter, 89, Canadian country singer (“Mary in the Morning”); Brian Potter, 86–87, British-born American songwriter (“Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got)”, “It Only Takes a Minute”) and record producer (Rhinestone Cowboy).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Potter_(musician)
1: Shaun Glass, 57, American heavy metal guitarist (Soil, Dirge Within) and bassist (Broken Hope), complications from a stroke; Dave Stimson, American music executive and writer, co-founder of Touch and Go Records; Mykola Yanchenko, 66, Ukrainian composer and singer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_(American_band)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_and_Go_Records
June 2026
29: Phyllis Kinney, 103, American singer (Carl Rosa Opera Company) and author; Antoinette Miggiani, 88, Maltese operatic soprano; Dadi Yudistira, Indonesian musician.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Kinney
30: Jaroslav Foltýn, 90, Czech violinist; Daniel Melingo, 68, Argentine musician (Los Twist, Los Abuelos de la Nada); Gergely Molnár, 76, Hungarian musician; Victor Willis, 74, American singer (Village People) and songwriter (“Y.M.C.A.”, “In the Navy”).
