The star passed away on Wednesday evening (01Jul15), aged 76.

Born Hollis Rudolph DeLaughter, he served in the U.S. Air Force before deciding to pursue a career in music.

He performed with his guitar in various nightclubs, where he adopted the stage name Red Lane, but it was a chance meeting with Grand Ole Opry star Justin Tubb in 1964 which landed him his big break.

Tubb hired Red Lane to play in his band and introduced him to music publisher Buddy Killen.

He went on to perform with artists like Dottie West and Merle Haggard, and on recordings by Johnny Cash, Bobby Bare and Willie Nelson.

However, it was his songwriting which really earned him acclaim and he found huge success penning country classics such as Haggard's My Own Kind of Hat, George Strait's Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa, Blackjack County Chain by Nelson and Till I Get It Right by Tammy Wynette.

He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in Tennessee in 1993.