Don Schlitz, Revered Songwriter Behind ‘The Gambler,’ ‘Forever and Ever, Amen,’ ‘When You Say Nothing at All’ and Other Country Classics, Dies at 73

By Chris Willman

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

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Don Schlitz, one of the most widely revered names in the history of country music songwriting, died April 16 in a Nashville hospital after what was described as a sudden illness. He was 73.

A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Schlitz may be best recognized by the public as the sole author of one of country’s most iconic singles, and possibly the genre’s most quoted song ever: “The Gambler,” a country-pop crossover smash for Kenny Rogers in 1978. It was the first song he ever had recorded by someone, but it was not all downhill from there.

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