PRIMARY WAVE HOPS ON EDDIE RABBITT CATALOG

Primary Wave Music has added the works of country singer-songwriter Eddie Rabbitt to its roster. The deal will see the independent publishing powerhouse acquire a stake in Rabbitt’s catalog, including hits such as “I Love a Rainy Night” and “Drivin’ My Life Away.”

“Eddie Rabbitt’s music has left a lasting impression in the country music community and beyond,” Primary Wave VP, Business & Legal Affairs Lexi Todd said. “We're thrilled to welcome the catalog of such an iconic performer and songwriter.”

Rabbitt began his career as a songwriter in the late 1960s, composing hits like "Kentucky Rain" for Elvis Presley in 1970 and "Pure Love" for Ronnie Milsap in 1974. He also helped develop the crossover-influenced sound of country music prevalent in the '80s with “Suspicions,” penned with David Malloy and Even Stevens, the aforementioned "I Love a Rainy Night” and “Every Which Way but Loose.”

Rabbitt's duets "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)" with Juice Newton and "You and I" with Crystal Gayle later appeared on the soap operas Days of Our Lives and All My Children.

In 1977 the Academy of Country Music named him Top New Male Vocalist of the Year. He received the BMI Burton Song of the Year award in 1980 for “Suspicions" and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1998.

Rabbitt was an advocate for the Special Olympics, Easter Seals and the American Council on Transplantation, serving as the latter's honorary chairman. He also acted as a spokesman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and United Cerebral Palsy. Rabbitt died in May 1998 after a battle with lung cancer.