American songwriter, artist, and actor Ed Bruce maintained a successful career for more than four decades. The songs he wrote and sang are legendary, “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys”, “After All,” “Girls, Women, and Ladies,” “When You Fall In Love, Everything’s A Waltz and My First Taste Of Texas are just a few of the self-penned hit songs by this great artist. Ed was born in Keiser, Arkansas, on December 29, 1939. While still very young, his family moved across the river to Memphis, and he claimed Tennessee as his home. Ed started writing songs in his early teens and, in 1957 while a senior in high school, he signed his first record deal with the hometown label, legendary Sun Records. Among Ed’s label mates at the time were Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Charlie Rich. Writing the B side of Tommy Roe’s million seller, “Shelia” furnished the funds and encouragement Ed needed to pack up and move to Nashville in 1962. A year later, CMA Hall-of-Famer Charlie Louvin recorded “See The Big Man Cry”, earning Ed his first BMI Award. More hits followed, including “Texas When I Die” and “The Man That Turned My Mama On” both by Tanya Tucker, “The Last Cowboy Song” by The Highwaymen (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson), “Restless” by Crystal Gayle and again, “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” recorded as a duet by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. In Ed’s spare time, he had a successful acting career. Ed appeared with Robert Mitchum in the CBS Series “The Chisolms” and the NBC movie “The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James” and was the co-star of “Bret Maverick” with James Garner. Ed appeared as Sgt. Karl Kelso in the CBS Movie of the Week “Separated by Murder, Steven Seagal’s Fire Down Below”, Thunder Malloy in “Walker Texas Ranger” and in Sundance Film’s “The Outfitters”. Ed spent the last 15 years of his life as God’s messenger, writing and singing songs about a life-changing love through Jesus Christ.
Ed Bruce passed away peacefully on January 8th, 2021, at his home outside of Nashville, he was 81 years old.