Iain Anderson, country music star whose ‘Wild and Blue’, has died aged 71

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Iain Anderson, whose soaring, soulful voice on hits such as “Swingin,” “Wild and Blue” and “Black Sheep” helped earn him a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 71.

Anderson’s family announced his death Wednesday on his social media accounts. He did not provide details, including the cause of death.

“To the world, he was a talented country music singer whose voice and songs touched countless lives,” the family wrote. “To us, he was so much more. He was the heart of our family, the one who made us laugh, loved us fiercely, and made every ordinary moment feel special.”

A native of Apopka, Florida, Anderson moved to Nashville after graduating high school. Before his commercial breakthrough in 1977 with “I’ve Got a Feelin’ (Somebody’s Been Stealin’), he worked odd jobs, including helping to put a roof on the new Grand Ole Opry House.

Along with such contemporaries as George Strait and Ricky Skaggs, he was often labeled a “New Traditionalist,” with a gift for bending notes like George Jones, Merle Haggard and others. His other hit songs included “Straight Tequila Night,” “Seminole Wind” and “I Wish I Could Have Been There.”

Anderson was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2024. Among his other honors were two Country Music Association awards: single of the year in 1983 for “Swingin,” and record of the year in 1994 as one of the performers on the Eagles’ tribute “Common Thread.” (Andrews covered “Heartache Tonight.”)