John David Hurley (April 18, 1941 – August 16, 1986) and Ronald Stephen Wilkins (born October 8, 1941) were American musicians and songwriting partners responsible for writing the hit songs "Love of the Common People" and "Son of a Preacher Man".
He started writing songs and performing while at high school, and as a teenager appeared on local radio station WAGR where he was heard by a Charlotte talent agent and as a result auditioned successfully for Tree.
[4] By the mid-1960s, Hurley and Wilkins worked regularly together as a songwriting partnership at Tree, initially focusing on songs for soul musicians including Joe Tex.
[6] In 1967 the song became a country music hit for Waylon Jennings, and it was later recorded by many musicians including John Denver, The Everly Brothers, The Winstons, Nicky Thomas, and Paul Young.
[3][8] Other singers who recorded songs by Hurley and Wilkins included Nina Simone, Wayne Newton, Tanya Tucker and David Cassidy.
[1] Ronnie continued to write songs, including Terry Gregory's 1981 country hit "Just Like Me", co-written with Dene Anton, Wilkins worked as a session musician on keyboards with Jose Feliciano, Jerry Reed, Floyd Cramer and others.