Ted Daffan; Singer Wrote ‘Born to Lose’

Ted Daffan, 84, honky-tonk singer, songwriter and steel guitarist best known for writing and recording the 1940s hit “Born to Lose.” The song, which has been recorded by 120 artists, earned even wider popularity in the 1960s, going platinum when Ray Charles mad a record of it. Among the singers who have recorded Daffan songs are Willie Nelson, Ella Fitzgerald, George Jones and Ringo Starr. As an original member of the 1930s swing band Blue Ridge Playboys, Daffan helped develop the honky-tonk style, an offshoot of western swing that is closely associated with Texas. Some of the songwriter’s other hits were “Truck Driver’s Blues,” “I’ve Got Five Dollars and It’s Saturday Night” and “I’m a Fool to Care.” On Sunday in Houston of cancer.