67 year-old Texas Country singer-songwriter Johnny Duncan died unexpectedly of a heart attack on Monday.
Duncan was perhaps best known for introducing his (at the time) unknown and unnamed female singing partner, Janie Fricke to the world on a string of consecutive hits that he had in the mid to late 1970s. "Stranger" (his first Top 5 song, written by Kris Kristofferson); "Thinkin' Of A Rendezvous" (his first #1, and first #1 for fabled songwritter Sonny Throckmorton, co-written with Bobby Braddock); "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better;" (the first song that Fricke got credit on); followed by a remake of an old Jay & The Americans pop hit, "Come A Little Bit Closer," all featuring Fricke, who went on to become The Country Music Association's and Academy Of Country Music's Female Vocalist of the year. He then had hits with "Hello Mexico (And Adios Baby to You);" "She Can Put Her Shoes Under My Bed (Anytime);" "The Lady In The Blue Mercedes;" and another pop remake, Johnny Rivers' "Slow Dancing (Swaying To The Music)."
His cousins were Dan and Jimmy Seals, both members of different popular duos. Jimmy was the "Seals" in Seals & Crofts; and Dan was the "Dan" in England Dan & John Ford Coley.
Funeral services are pending at the Harrell Funeral Home in Duncan's hometown of Dublin, Texas.
