Singer, songwriter, actor Ed Bruce dies at 81

CLARKESVILLE, Tennessee (WDEF) – Country music has suffered another loss of the old guard.

Singer, songwriter and actor Ed Bruce died on Friday from natural causes.

He was 81.

Bruce began recording and writing songs for Sam Phillips in the late 1950s.

Over the next two decades, he wrote hits for Tommy Roe (Save Your Kisses), Charlie Louvin (See the Big Man Cry), Tanya Tucker (The Man That Turned My Mama On) , and Crystal Gayle (Restless).

But he only scored minor hits with his songs.

Then it all change when he and his wife wrote “Mama’s Don’t Let Your Boys Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”

The song was a top 20 hit for him in 1976, but became a monster when Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings covered it.

That set him up for a string of hits in the 1980s, topped by “You’re the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had” and “You Turn Me On Like A Radio.”

His acting career took off then, too.

Bruce landed the role of a surly sheriff in the remake of the TV series Bret Maverick on NBC.

His biggest film role was in Steven Segal’s Fire Down Below.

Bruce appeared in several made for TV movies and hosted the shows Truckin’ USA and American Sports Cavalcade.

Bruce landed 35 songs on the country charts, including six top ten hits.