NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark, who helped mentor a generation of songwriters and wrote hits like “L.A. Freeway” and “Desperados Waiting for a Train,” has died. He was 74.

Clark died Tuesday at his home in Nashville, according to his manager, Keith Case. He’d been in poor health, although Case didn’t give an official cause of death.

A native of Monahans, Texas, Clark belonged to a group of highly influential Texas songwriters that included Townes Van Zandt and Mickey Newbury. Together with his painter-songwriter wife, Susanna, Clark’s home in Nashville became a gathering place for artists like Rodney Crowell and Steve Earle.

He wrote songs for Johnny Cash, Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Jeff Walker, Bobby Bare, Vince Gill and John Conlee.

Born in 1941, Clark’s upbringing in west Texas inspired the scenes and characters for many of his songs, including “Desperados.”