On Thursday 8 January 2026, Gene Watson mourned the passing (on Wednesday 7 January 2026) of acclaimed songwriter, Jim McBride.
‘Very sorry to hear that great songwriter, Jim McBride, has passed.
I recorded his song, ‘A Bridge That Just Won’t Burn’, which was co-written with Roger Murrah, for my ‘Real.Country.Music‘ (Fourteen Carat Music, 2016) CD, but he had many huge hits, including co-writing with Alan Jackson the mega hit, ‘Chattahoochee’ ‘
Source
Gene Watson on Facebook
The original version of ‘A Bridge That Just Won’t Burn’, which was written by Jim McBride (Monday 28 April 1947 – Wednesday 7 January 2026) and Roger Murrah, was recorded by Conway Twitty (Friday 1 September 1933 – Saturday 5 June 1993), who included it on ‘Rest Your Love On Me’ (MCA Records, 1980); Conway Twitty’s version of the track reached No.3 on the Billboard country music singles chart in 1980.
Note from Gene Watson
‘A Bridge That Just Won’t Burn’, which was written by Jim McBride (Monday 28 April 1947 – Wednesday 7 January 2026) and Roger Murrah
‘Many people know that Conway Twitty (Friday 1 September 1933 – Saturday 5 June 1993) was something of a mentor to me in the music business and I loved his version of this song, but I hadn’t really thought about covering it until the songwriter, Jim McBride (Monday 28 April 1947 – Wednesday 7 January 2026), suggested it.
I love the lyrics and truly enjoyed recording this one. I was and always will be a fan of Conway, both personally and professionally, so I hope the fans will feel I’ve done this song justice in honour of the man they used to say was ‘the best friend a song ever had’ – Mr. Conway Twitty (Friday 1 September 1933 – Saturday 5 June 1993)’.
