Larry Bastian, ‘Unanswered Prayers’ Songwriter, Dies at 90 as Garth Brooks Pays Tribute

Larry Bastian, a country songwriter known for “Unanswered Prayers,” has died. He was 90.

Per The Porterville Recorder Bastian died on Sunday, April 6, according to a Facebook post his son Nick shared.

“The Lord called Dad home last night,” he wrote. “He taught us at a very young age gun safety, along with teaching us hunting and fishing. He let us be boys, which seems to be a dying thing these days.”

Bastian’s son also thanked his late father for teaching him how to raise his sons. “I took them to work with me and raised them to be free range country kids and now they are raising their’s the same way. I love you Dad, give Chris a big hug, tell him I love him and I’ll see you all soon.”

Garth Brooks, who sings the 1990 song from his album No Fences, paid tribute to Bastian. “This was a great man… a cowboy, a poet, and a true friend,” Brooks, 63. told the New York Post in a statement on Wednesday, April 16. “I was lucky enough to be taken in by him as a student when I first moved to Nashville.”

Added Brooks, “I love Larry Bastian.”

Bastian was born on Sept. 1, 1934, in Porterville, Calif. into a farming family, according to Billboard. Before he became a songwriter, he worked in the Department of Agriculture for Kern and Tulare Counties for 15 years. In the early ’70s, he began to dabble in songwriting.

Bastian was also known for songs “Rodeo,” “The Girl Who Has Everything,” “Somebody Knew,” “Saturday Night Special” and “Forever’s Here to Stay.” Along with Brooks, Bastian penned songs for Tammy Wynette, Conway Twitty, Reba McEntire, Rhett Akins, Tracy Byrd and Sammy Kershaw, among other artists.

Perhaps Bastian’s most well-known song is “Unanswered Prayers” sung by Brooks. Brooks recounts the song coming to life in the CD booklet for his compilation album The Hits. “[Songwriter] Pat Alger and I worked on this song quite a long time without a hook, without the line,” Brooks wrote.

“We passed it by Larry Bastian and it was as if it was meant to be. Larry, his wife Myrna and I were taking a walk and he looked at me and said, ‘Oh, that’s simple. This song should be called ‘Unanswered Prayers’ because some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.’ ”

“This is probably the truest song I have ever been involved with as a writer. This actually happened to my wife and me when we went back home to Oklahoma. Every time I sing this song, it teaches me the same lesson… happiness isn’t getting what you want, it is wanting what you’ve got.”

Though Bastian wasn’t nominated for any Grammys, he has contributed to 68 platinum albums thanks to his songwriting credits.