Biography
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Born
8 November 1942
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Born In
Florence, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States
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Died
27 August 2019 (aged 76)
Donnie Fritts (Florence, Alabama, November 8, 1942 – August 27, 2019) was an American session musician and songwriter. A recording artist in his own right, he was Kris Kristofferson's keyboardist for over forty years. In 2008, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. He began playing drums in local bands such as The Satellites and Hollis Dixon & the Keynotes at age 15, and later developed into a session keyboard player.
Working closely with Rick Hall, Billy Sherrill, Dan Penn, Arthur Alexander, David Briggs, Jerry Carrigan and Norbert Putnam, Fritts was involved in many of the early songs and recordings created in the Muscle Shoals music industry.
In 2014, he appeared on Country Funk Vol. II, a compilation album from Light in the Attic. In 2015, he signed with Single Lock Records.
In 1965, Fritts signed with a Nashville publishing company. Songs which he wrote were recorded by Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis. He later met Kris Kristofferson who was just beginning a career in songwriting. When forming his band, Kristofferson called on Fritts, who continued as his keyboard player for over two decades, performing live, on recordings and in numerous movies.
Through his association with Kristofferson, Fritts appeared in three of Sam Peckinpah's movies: Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and Convoy as well as other movies including A Star Is Born and Songwriter.
In 1974, Kristofferson and producer Jerry Wexler co-produced Prone To Lean at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Everybody's Got A Song was released in 1998. The album included guest appearances by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, Waylon Jennings, Delbert McClinton, Tony Joe White, Leroy Parnell & John Prine. It would be another ten years before Fritts released his third album One Foot in the Groove in 2008 produced by Dan Penn with Ron Laury, recorded at Dandy Studio in Nashville.
Fritts died from complications of heart surgery on August 27, 2019.
Discography
Prone To Lean (1974)
Everybody's Got A Song (1997)
One Foot in the Groove (2008)
Oh My Goodness (2015)
June (A Tribute To Arthur Alexander) (2018)
Chart songs as a songwriter
Song Title Recording Artist US Chart
Year
"Easy To Love" Joe Simon 12 1977
"You're Gonna Love Yourself in The Morning" Bonnie Koloc 12 1974
"You're Gonna Love Yourself in The Morning" Charlie Rich 22 1980
"Choo Choo Train" Boxtops 26 1968
"We Had It All" Waylon Jennings 28 1973
"We Had It All" Dolly Parton 28 1986
"You're Gonna Love Yourself in The Morning" Roy Clark 35 1975
"Breakfast in Bed" Dusty Springfield b side of Son Of A Preacher Man 10 1968
"Breakfast in Bed" UB40 featuring Chrissie Hynde 8 1988
Jerry Jeff Walker's 1975 Song "Pissin' in the Wind" opens with a dedication to Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, "Funky Donnie Fritts" and Billy Swan.
Born in Florence, Alabama in 1942, Donnie Fritts began his career as a musician at the age of 15, playing drums and keyboard.
In 1965 Fritts began writing songs and had songs recorded by Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Nelson and others.
As a songwriter, Donnie's songs were performed and appeared on the national charts by Charlie Rich (You're Gonna Love Yourself In the Morning' (1980), Dolly Parton (We Had It All-1986), and Waylon Jennings (We Had It All-1973).
In 1967, Fritts began playing keyboards for Kris Kristofferson, also a Florence, Alabama native, a relationship that spanned 20 years and in locations both nationally and internationally.
Donnie appeared in several movies with Kris Kristofferson, including 'The Last Years of Frank and Jesse James' (1986-TV), 'Songwriter' (1984), 'Convoy'(1978), and 'A Star is Born' (1976), and two other Sam Peckinpah's movies in addition to 'Convoy'; 'Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid' (1973) and 'Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia' (1974).
In 1998, Donnie released an album 'Everybody's Got A Song' which includes guest appearances by Willie Nelson, Tony Joe White, and Kris Kristofferson and John Prine, as well as many others.
In 2001, Fritts had a kidney transplant that closely followed seven heart operations.
While he was recovering in the hospital after the transplant, a friend asked how he was doing. Fritts responded that he had "one foot in the groove." It became the title of a CD in 2008.
On February 22, 2008, Kristofferson was on hand in Montgomery, Alabma to induct Donnie into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
On March 06, 2008, Donnie Fritts who is active on the Muscle Shoals (Alabama) music scene appeared with Billy Bob Thornton for The Billy Bob Bash: A Muscle Scoals Homecoming at the Shoals Theatre in downtown Florence, Alabama as a part of the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival. In 2008 Billy Bob and Donnie also began co-writing several new songs.
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