NEW YORK (AP) — Don Schlitz, the storied country music songwriter known for such hits as “The Gambler,” “On the Other Hand” and “Forever and Ever, Amen,” died Thursday at a Nashville hospital. He was 73.
The cause of death was not immediately known. A press release from the Grand Ole Opry described it as a sudden illness.
The two-time Grammy Award winner was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. “I will never be able to believe that I deserve this, unless I receive it as a representative of my family, my mentors, my collaborators, my promoters and my friends,” Schlitz said in 2017, when he learned of the Country Music Hall of Fame honor. “That’s the only way I can deal with this.”
Schlitz made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2017 and was later inducted in 2022. He is the only non-artist to receive the honor in the Opry’s 100 years. The historic venue's Saturday night show will be dedicated in his honor.
He was named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year for four consecutive years, from 1988 through 1991. He also wrote music and lyrics for “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” the 1999 Broadway musical.
Schlitz's songs are widely considered some of the most unwavering in country music, and have been recorded by such hitmakers as Kenny Rogers (“The Gambler,” “The Greatest”), Randy Travis (“On the Other Hand,” “Forever and Ever, Amen”), The Judds (“I Know Where I’m Going”), The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (“I Love Only You,”) Tanya Tucker (“I Won’t Take Less Than Your Love,”) Mary Chapin Carpenter (“He Thinks He’ll Keep Her”) and many others.
He also wrote “You Can’t Make Old Friends” for Rogers and Dolly Parton; their first duet since 1983's “Islands in the Stream.”
Schlitz, a North Carolina native, was born in 1952 and raised in Durham before packing his bags and heading to Nashville. His first recorded song, “The Gambler,” is perhaps his most enduring hit and the tent-pole of his legacy. The song, which was recorded by Rogers in 1978 and certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), opened doors for country music in the '70s, a track that was not only a huge genre hit but also a pop crossover one.
As Rogers said when he inducted Schlitz into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012, “Don doesn’t just write songs. He writes careers.”
“We are heartbroken by the news of the passing of Don Schlitz. Don loved his family, his home state of North Carolina, and above all, songs and songwriters. He carried that love into every room, every stage and every lyric he ever wrote,” Sarah Trahern, Country Music Association CEO, wrote in a statement Friday. “Not long ago, we shared a dinner, and as we were leaving, Don picked up a guitar and began to play. That is how I will always remember him, smiling and with a guitar in his hand. His legacy lives on through his music and the many artists and writers he inspired. He will be deeply missed.”
“Don Schlitz’s place as a songwriting great would be secure had he never written ‘The Gambler’ or had he only written ‘The Gambler,’” Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, wrote in a statement Friday. “Nashville was richer for his presence and is lesser for his absence.”
Schlitz is survived by his wife Stacey, daughter Cory Dixon and her husband Matt Dixon, son Pete Schlitz and his wife Christian Webb Schlitz, grandchildren Roman, Gia, Isla and Lilah, brother Brad Schlitz and sister Kathy Hinkley.
FILE - Kenny Rogers, left, presents the ASCAP Creative Achievement Award to songwriter Don Schlitz at the ASCAP Country Music Awards in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, Oct. 15, 2007. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE - Songwriter Don Schlitz appears at the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductions in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
FILE - Don Schlitz performs at the 2012 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and awards gala in New York on June 14, 2012. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
The NBA playoff field will finally be complete on Friday night.
A two-game slate awaits in the NBA, the final two games of the play-in tournament. Charlotte visits Orlando in the Eastern Conference, while Golden State goes to Phoenix in the Western Conference.
The Hornets-Magic winner gets the East's No. 8 seed and a matchup with Detroit. The Warriors-Suns winner gets the West's No. 8 seed and a matchup with Oklahoma City.
The Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic and Detroit's Cade Cunningham won appeals to be part of the NBA awards voting this season, after both fell short of the 65-game rule.
Minnesota's Anthony Edwards' bid for the same fate fell short, and he won't be All-NBA this season as a result.
Voters will turn ballots in Friday. The NBA hasn't said when award announcements, which are typically scattered throughout the postseason, will begin.
— Playoff preview: Thunder seeking another title
— Victor Wembanyama set for his postseason debut
— Heat, Hornets moving forward after LaMelo play
— Damon Jones expected to change gambling plea
— The banged-up Lakers still have playoff hope
— Wizards expect Brian Keefe back as their coach
— Heat equipment manager needs organ transplants
— Natalie Sago the 3rd female ref picked for playoffs
— All eyes on Giannis' future ... after Doc steps down
— The view from Vegas says the West is the best
7:30 p.m. EDT — Charlotte at Orlando (Prime Video)
10 p.m. EDT — Golden State at Phoenix (Prime Video)
1 p.m. EDT — Game 1, Toronto at Cleveland (Prime Video)
3:30 p.m. EDT — Game 1, Minnesota at Denver (Prime Video)
6 p.m. — Game 1, Atlanta at New York (Prime Video)
8:30 p.m. — Game 1, Houston at LA Lakers (ABC)
1 p.m. EDT — Game 1, Philadelphia at Boston (ABC)
3:30 p.m. EDT — Game 1, Golden State-Phoenix winner at Oklahoma City (ABC)
6:30 p.m. EDT — Game 1, Charlotte-Orlando winner at Detroit (NBC/Peacock)
9 p.m. EDT — Game 1, Portland at San Antonio (NBC/Peacock)
The National Basketball Coaches Association said Friday that Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff won its coach of the year award for this season.
That is not the official, NBA-issued, award. The NBCA award — named for Michael H. Goldberg, the first executive director of the association — is voted on by the other head coaches in the league.
Other coaches who got votes from their peers for this year's award: Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Mitch Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs, Charles Lee of the Charlotte Hornets, Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics, Quin Snyder of the Atlanta Hawks and Tiago Splitter of the Portland Trail Blazers.
“I’m extremely honored to receive this recognition from my coaching peers,” Bickerstaff said.
Said David Fogel, the NBCA's executive director and general counsel: "Coach Bickerstaff has shown the ultimate dedication to the coaching profession. Not only has he guided the Pistons to one of the best seasons in franchise history, but his coaching peers also elected him as the sixth President in NBCA history."
Bickerstaff assumed that role from longtime president Rick Carlisle, who stepped down after about two decades.
Defending champion Oklahoma City (+120) is favored to win the NBA title, according to oddsmakers.
The Thunder are followed by San Antonio (+450), Boston (+550), Denver (+1000), Cleveland (+1600) and New York (+2000).
Detroit, the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2000. After that, nobody has better odds than Houston (+6600).
The Los Angeles Lakers were +2500 before Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves got hurt; they’re +20000 now.
— Friday: NBA play-in tournament finales.
— Saturday and Sunday: NBA playoff series openers.
— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.
— May 10: NBA draft lottery.
— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.
— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.
— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.
— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).
— June 23: Round 1, NBA draft
— June 24: Round 2, NBA draft
— If Phoenix loses Friday, there will be a record four teams with winning records who don't make the playoffs (Miami, the LA Clippers, and the Orlando-Charlotte loser will also be in that group.) There were three over-.500 teams that didn't qualify in both 1971 and 2022.
— If Golden State wins Friday, not only would it knock the Suns out, but it would become the seventh team in the last 30 seasons to get into the playoffs with a 37-45 record or worse. (Miami 2025, New Orleans 2022, Indiana 2011, Atlanta 2008, Boston 2004 and the LA Clippers in 1997 are the others.)
— Miami's Tyler Herro became the NBA's all-time play-in tournament points leader on Tuesday, passing Trae Young. Herro might keep that title for exactly three days. He has 178 points — and Golden State's Stephen Curry, who also passed Young on Wednesday, only needs nine points against Phoenix on Friday to pass Herro on that list.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) lies on the court during the first half of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer watches in the closing minutes of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game between the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James looks to make a pass during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots against the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
