The singer, who also penned Randy Travis' hit "Three Wooden Crosses", passed away on Thursday, reported Rolling Stone.
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member also wrote "Papa Loved Mama" and "She's Gonna Make It" for Brooks, and he co-wrote Kenny Chesney's first country top 10 Fall in Love.
The Tennessee native, who was severely burned in a fire in the mid-1970s, scored his first big hit in 1994 when Joe Diffie took his "If The Devil Danced" (In Empty Pockets) to number one on the US country chart.
His Travis hit "Three Wooden Crosses" was named the 2003 CMA Song of the Year and the Gospel Music Association's Country Song of the Year.