John Anderson, Country Singer of "Swingin'" and "Straight Tequila Night," Dies at 71
John Anderson, the country singer known for "Swingin'" and "Straight Tequila Night," died on Oct. 21. He was 71, according to Billboard, which reported the death on Oct. 22.
Anderson was a native of Apopka, Florida. In the summer of 1972 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, the centre of the country music business. He first worked there as a construction laborer on the Grand Ole Opry House, the venue that hosts the Grand Ole Opry, the long-running radio show.
His recording career took shape in the years that followed. He signed with Warner Bros. in 1976, according to his official website. His first Top 20 hit was "Your Lying Blue Eyes." "Swingin'," which he co-wrote with Lionel Delmore, became his first million-selling single. It also won the Country Music Association's Horizon Award and its Single of the Year prize in 1983.
Anderson's chart record is long. He landed five No. 1s on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, the weekly ranking of country songs by radio airplay, sales and streaming. He also had 20 top 10 hits on that chart, with top 10s spanning 1981 to 1995. Other radio hits included "Wild and Blue," written by John Scott Sherrill, "Black Sheep," and "Money in the Bank."
He signed with BNA in 1991, a label that was part of RCA. His comeback came with "Straight Tequila Night," from the 1992 album Seminole Wind. The song reached No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart, which ranks songs by how often radio stations play them.
Anderson's work was recognised beyond the charts. The Academy of Country Music gave him its career achievement award in 1993. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2024 he entered the Country Music Hall of Fame, in a class that also included the guitarist James Burton and the singer Toby Keith, according to the Hall of Fame.
For many listeners, his songs are tied to specific moments, from the dance floor to the car radio. His career began with a job building a stage for the music he would later help define. Anderson is survived by the catalogue he left behind, and by the songs that still get played on the radio.
