Richard Fagan

Richard Fagan
Richard Fagan poses with Todd Cerney's guitar in front of painting by Gloria Newton
Background information
Birth name	Richard William Fagan
Born	(1947-04-24)April 24, 1947 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	August 5, 2016(2016-08-05) (aged 69) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Pop, rock, country
Occupation	Songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	1976–2016
Labels	Mercury Records
Formerly of	John Michael Montgomery George Strait Kacey Jones
Website	http://broadmindedmusic.com/

Richard Fagan (April 24, 1947 – August 5, 2016) was an American songwriter and musician. He had six top ten singles and 18 charted singles on the Billboard Country charts. Fagan's songs have been recorded by Neil Diamond, George Strait, John Michael Montgomery, Clay Walker, Ricochet, Hank Williams, Jr., George Jones, Shania Twain, Patty Loveless, Collin Raye, Shenandoah, The Crickets, Jason & the Scorchers, The Blues Brothers Band and many others.

In 1979, his song "The Good Lord Loves You" was recorded by Neil Diamond and released on the September Morn album. The song charted in the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 67 in April 1980.^[1] Fagan accomplished nine Billboard Country chart singles in the 1990s including two of John Michael Montgomery's number one singles: "Be My Baby Tonight" and "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)". Fagan had three additional songs on the Billboard Country charts in the 2000s, including the song "Why Can't We All Just Get a Long Neck?" that appears on the Hank Williams, Jr. album, I'm One of You.

On April 26, 2008, Fagan had a physical altercation with his publishing partner and best friend, Tom Oteri. Fagan was arrested for drunk driving after leaving the scene of the fight where Oteri was later found dead, having suffered a heart attack. Fagan was convicted of the drunk driving charge and sentenced to rehabilitative therapy with the support of Oteri's family members who still regarded Fagan as a close friend after the incident.