‘Something to Talk About’ songwriter Shirley Eikhard dies

Shirley Eikhard, the singer-songwriter who found lasting fame penning Bonnie Raitt‘s Grammy-winning 1991 hit “Something to Talk About,” has died.

NEW YORK — Shirley Eikhard, the singer-songwriter who supplied songs for Cher, Emmylou Harris, Anne Murray, Chet Atkins and found lasting fame penning Bonnie Raitt‘s Grammy-winning 1991 hit “Something to Talk About,” has died. She was 67.

Eikhard died Thursday at Headwaters Health Care Centre in Orangeville, Ontario, due to complications from cancer, said publicist Eric Alper.

The blues-rock smash hit “Something to Talk About” was written in 1985 and Eikhard had offered it to Murray and other artists, who all declined to record it. Then years later Raitt left a message on Eikhard’s phone saying she she’d just recorded it. Raitt said later she’d discovered the song on a demo Eikhard had sent and admired it.

The song was the first single from Raitt’s 1991 album “Luck of the Draw” and spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 5. It would win Raitt the best pop vocal performance at the 1992 Grammy Awards and was also nominated in the record of the year category.

On Grammy night, Raitt made sure to thank Eikhard and she turned to Twitter after Eikhard’s death to say she was “deeply saddened,” writing “I will be forever grateful for our beautiful connection and friendship.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/something-talk-songwriter-shirley-eikhard-dies-rcna62245

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