Singer/songwriter Hank Cochran has lost has battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 74.

A country music legend, Cochran penned hits like Make the World Go Away, That's All That Matters To Me, I Fall To Pieces and George Strait's Ocean Front Property. He died at his home in Tennessee on Thursday (15Jul10) after a final singalong on Wednesday night (14Jul10) with pals Billy Ray Cyrus and Jamey Johnson, who visited the ailing songwriter.

Cochran landed his big break as a songwriter in the early 1960s when Ray Price hired him. Cochran then brought pal Willie Nelson onboard. In a statement, Price says, "I recorded a lot of Hank's songs. He was a great songwriter and a great friend, so it's a double loss for me."

Superfan Brad Paisley took to his Twitter.com page to honor Cochran, writing, "Of my top 20 favorite songs of all time, he wrote about half of em. What a great guy&great life." (KL/WNWC/MT)

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