Country singer Jeff Carson, who hit No. 1 on the charts with his 1995 single “Not on Your Love,” died Saturday of a heart attack, his publicist said. He was 58.
According to a news release, Carson died at the Williamson Medical Center in Franklin, Tennessee, WKRN-TV reported. Publicist Jeremy Westby also confirmed the singer’s death to The Hollywood Reporter.
Carson was born Jeffrey Lee Herndon in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Dec. 16, 1963, and began singing in church, according to the news release. He formed a band in Rogers, Arkansas, and later moved to Branson, Missouri.
After moving to Nashville, Carson began recording demos for other country music artists, WKRN reported. That included Faith Hill (”It Matters to Me”), Tracy Lawrence (”I See it Now”), Reba McEntire (”The Heart is A Lonely Hunter”), Tim McGraw (”I Wouldn’t Want It Any Other Way”) and Mark Wills (”Places I’ve Never Been.”)
Carson landed a deal with Curb Records in 1995, and his single that year, “Yeah Buddy,” was his first chart single, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
His next single, “Not on Your Love,” hit No. 1 on the country charts in 1995.
Carson, who had 14 charted singles on the Billboard charts, scored a No. 2 hit with “The Car,” which won “Video of the Year” honors at the Academy of Country Music awards, WKRN reported.
In 2009, Carson retired from music to become a law enforcement officer with Franklin Police Department, Westby said in a release. He returned to the music scene in 2019, signing a deal with MC1 Nashville and releasing a new version of the previously recorded song “God Save the World,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. He had since signed with Encore Music Group and was working on music with Michael Ray, Mark Wills, Craig Morgan and Darryl Worley, the entertainment site reported.