Eddie Rabbitt was a country/pop success who helped to change the way that artists were viewed. Rabbitt was one of the first singer/songwriters to cross over from one genre to another. With a pleasant voice and catchy lyrics Rabbitt quickly climbed the charts. His break into the business came in 1970 when Elvis Presley recorded his song Kentucky Rain, which earned Rabbitt a BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) award for both country and pop airplay. He also wrote Ronnie Milsap’s Pure Love, and continued to be a professional writer until he was signed to his own recording deal with Elektra Records in 1975. Rocky Mountain Music was his first album, and it was country to the core. This album began his career as a songwriter and performer, and landed his songs on the charts. Not only did he have a gift for writing, but he also had a smooth and emotion-filled voice, which, along with his personality and good looks made him a ladies favorite. Rabbitt had a continuous string of number one hits that ran on the charts from 1976-1989. After Rocky Mountain Music he recorded many other albums, most of them also containing a pop sound to them. His major crossover from straight country to country/pop was when he wrote and recorded Every Which Way But Loose, which was the theme from the Clint Eastwood movie of the same title. The success of the movie helped the song rise on the charts and subsequently Rabbitt’s name was heard more and more. He was awarded the prestigious Robert J. Burton award from BMI in 1980 for the most performed song of the year, with his R&B/Jazz inspired song Suspicions. Rabbitt was not afraid to try new things, and incorporate techniques, instruments, or sounds from other genres into his music, which led to his rockin’ Driving My Life Away and Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight. He is most known for Every Which Way But Loose, however his biggest hits were Driving My Life Away, Step By Step, and the upbeat, and catchy song featured on the Grand Theft Auto San Andreas soundtrack, I Love a Rainy Night. Rabbitt believed that a writer never lost their hunger for new material, and so he continued writing after his decline on the charts, and when many consider his career to have ended. He is considered to be one of the people who paved the path for contemporary artists such as Garth Brooks and Clint Black, who began to climb the charts as Rabbitt started to disappear. Unlike many modern day artists Rabbitt would perform every show with the same energy and enthusiasm because music was his passion. He always sang live with his band to back him up, while he himself was on guitar most of the time, and the instruments themselves were as much apart of his show, as his songs and voice. From the mellow and haunting sounds created for Suspicions, to the rockin’ sound of Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight, with a big drum finish, to the simple clapping and snapping of the hands and fingers with I Love a Rainy Night. He commanded the audiences attention, and never failed to leave them wanting more. During his nearly thirty year career Rabbitt earned many awards including three Grammy nominations, and more than 20 BMI songwriter awards in country, and over a dozen in pop. His 17 albums earned him 26 number one hits on the country charts, and eight Top 40 pop hits. Ten of his songs have achieved “million air” status, which means that each one has been played more than one million times on the radio. He performed two duets that each won him rave reviews, first the 1982 You and I, with Crystal Gayle, and then Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers), which was a duet with Juice Newton. He was named the Top New Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music Awards in 1977, and he won the American Music Award for Best Pop Male Vocalist in 1981. Rabbit never considered himself to be anything but an ordinary man, who happened to have the best job in the world, and he did remember that life is a precious gift.Rabbitt lost his young son at only 23 months old, which also contributed to his disappearance from the charts, however he continued to write until the time of his death on May 7, 1998 from lung cancer. He was only 56 when he died, and even though he had already lost one child, he encouraged his other son and daughter to find their passion and live it, because that was what his goal in life was.