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Country star HANK COCHRAN is recovering in a Nashville, Tennessee hospital following surgery to remove cancerous tumours from his pancreas.

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member, 72, is expected to remain hospitalised for several weeks, but he's expected to make a full recovery.

He says, "I feel so blessed. The diagnosis was made very early."

The songwriter penned Eddy Arnold's Make the World Go Away hit, Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me for Ronnie Milsap and Patsy Cline's I Fall to Pieces.

His songs have also been recorded by Elvis Presley and Linda Ronstadt, among others.

Note EpGold:

An alphabetical listing of just a few of the artists who've recorded Hank Cochran's tunes reads like a musician's encyclopedia:

Lynn Anderson, Eddy Arnold, Chet Atkins, Junior Brown, Jimmy Buffett, Tracy Byrd, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, Bing Crosby, Don Gibson, Vern Gosdin, Ty Herndon, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Joe Henry, Harry James, Waylon Jennings, Tom Jones, Loretta Lynn, Dean Martin, Reba McEntire, Wayne Newton, Buck Owens, Elvis Presley, LeAnn Rimes, Linda Ronstadt, Nancy Sinatra, George Strait, Carla Thomas, Ernest Tubb, Lee Ann Womack.