Johnny MacRae (February 15, 1929—July 3, 2013), born Fred A. MacRae, nicknamed "Dog" ^[1] was an American country music composer credited with 235 songs ^[2] released by recording artists including Ray Charles, George Jones, and Reba McEntire. ^[3] His best known songs include " You Can't Make a Heart Love Somebody" ( George Strait), " Tonight the Heartache's on Me" ( Dixie Chicks), " I'd Love to Lay You Down" ( Conway Twitty), " I Still Believe in Waltzes" ( Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty), " When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back" ( Confederate Railroad), " Goodbye Says It All" ( Blackhawk), and " Living Proof" ( Ricky Van Shelton).

MacRae was a native of Independence, Missouri. He began composing at age 30. ^[4] He served in the U.S. Navy for 15 years and on his free time he wrote songs and fronted a rockabilly band. ^[5] He moved to Nashville in 1963 and eventually became head of Screen Gems Music Publishing (Nashville office) from 1976 to 1984, then became vice president of Combine Music ^[6] and later wrote for Chappell Music. ^[7] In 2003, his song, " I'd Be Better Off (in a Pine Box)" was included in CMT's list of "100 Greatest Country Songs". ^{[8] [9]}

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