I think Eddie Rabbitt was one of the best songwriter/singer/musicians. Has his family received any awards in his honor since his death?
—Peggy S., Illinois
In September 1998, four months after he died from cancer, Eddie Rabbitt was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His widow, Janine, who lives in Nashville, Tenn., with children Tom and Demelza, accepted the award. "It was wonderful that he got the recognition," says Bill Rehrig, Rabbitt's tour manager and fiddle player for 20 years. The New York-born and New Jersey-raised Rabbitt was known for his smooth country-pop voice, but he was also a prolific and talented songwriter. He wrote the 1970 Elvis Presley hit Kentucky Rain. "We did the Elvis Presley tribute in 1994 … in Memphis at the Pyramid," Rehrig recalls. "Then Priscilla gave us a tour of the mansion, and she told us Kentucky Rain was her favorite song of Elvis'. That made Eddie feel good."
