Legendary Country Music Producer Who Worked With Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, and George Jones Dies at 81

Record producer Brian Ahern, who worked with leading country artists including Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris and George Jones, has died aged 81. His decades-long career shaped many recordings and helped launch Anne Murray’s music career, leaving a significant mark on Canadian country music.

Ahern and Murray produced 12 albums together, while he recorded 11 with Harris, his former wife. His other collaborators included Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison and Glen Campbell, and he was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Murray said his confidence helped her leave teaching to pursue music; his daughters also remembered the imaginative play spaces he built for them in his studio.