Dennis Linde

Who was Dennis Linde?

Dennis Linde was an American singer and songwriter whose work was primarily in country music.

He is best known for writing the 1972 Elvis Presley hit, "Burning Love". Presley performed the song live a few times, but often had trouble with the lyrics and soon pulled it from his playlist, although he did perform it during his famous show Aloha from Hawaii. Dennis Linde wrote numerous hit songs for mainly country music singers, beginning with hits for Roger Miller and Roy Drusky in 1970. In 2000, his song for the Dixie Chicks, "Goodbye Earl", stirred some controversy for its take on spousal abuse. Linde also wrote tunes that were recorded by Tanya Tucker, Gary Morris, Don Williams, The Judds, Alan Jackson, Mark Chesnutt and Garth Brooks, among several other acts. He also wrote two songs for the film Grease 2: "Cool Rider" and "Reproduction."

Linde was the sole writer of most of his songs, but he had also collaborated with the likes of country artist Mel McDaniel and Nashville songwriter Bob DiPiero.

He was known as one of the more reclusive figures on the Nashville scene, rarely attending industry events and preferring not to be photographed or interviewed. Nashville manager Scott Siman described him as a "mystery man," explaining, "If you ever saw Dennis Linde it was amazing, because you didn't get that opportunity very often."