You know, Country & Western!
This ain't your Dad's country music. It's your Granddad's! None of that new Nashville bullshit either. This is where you'll find what I consider the best in Country (Classic and Alt), Folk, and Americana.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
El Townes Van Zandt by Carlos Hernandez
Legend: Townes Van Zandt
“It was Clark who challenged a then 21-year-old Crowell to delve into his friend’s song craft. “I remember Guy sitting me down and saying, ‘One of the first things I gotta get you to do is understand how great Townes is…,’ and he really worked to get me to see how poetically inspired his work was. Guy made me listen to everything, every work tape… to show me this is the bar.”
Townes Van Zandt - To Live Is To Fly
Have you picked up Sunshine Boy yet? It’s mindblowing (and so wonderfully underproduced to give you that raw Townes sound.)
Townes Van Zandt - Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold
Lay them raises down.
Townes Van Zandt by Jim McGuire
The late, great TVZ would have been 69 today. Born 3/7/44. Raise a glass and pour one for him while you’re at it.
Townes Van Zandt - (Quicksilver Daydreams of) Maria
Give thanks to Townes today. Gone since 1/1/97.
Loretta: John Prine, Elvis Costello, Lyle Lovett, Ray LaMontagne
A supergroup version.
Townes Van Zandt, Mimi Lomax, Antoinette Hopkins, and Lightnin’ Hopkins in the Lomax family’s back yard in Houston, Texas, in the late 1960s or early 1970s. The photo was taken by Mimi’s son, John Lomax III.
Townes by Grego Anderson
(Source: mojohand.com)
Austin Chronicle: I have a Texas-specific question for you: did you ever play with Townes Van Zandt?
Gillian Welch: Yeah, many times. When we first started playing in Nashville, Townes was at a bunch of our first shows at Douglas Corner, which was a place he liked to hang out and drink. I remember the first show of ours he was at. He sat by himself at a table in the front row, like four feet from me, and every time Dave and I would hit a harmony note just right and really make it buzz, he'd pound the table and howl like a dog. I took this as a high compliment. Later we opened some shows for him. We had the same booking agent, a fellow named Keith Case who booked Townes for years, so we did some shows with him, some Writers in the Round with him. Nashville was founded on those, where writers sit in a circle, face each other, and play their songs. There were a couple parties, right at the end of Townes' life, when he couldn't really hold a guitar anymore or play. He would recite his songs because he couldn't sing. I remember one particular party at Doug Dillard's house, where Townes had been passed out in a chair for hours. We just thought he was out and then I dropped my pick and it was down under his chair. As I was bending down to get it, I looked up at him and his eyes were open and he was looking right at me. He didn't move, he gave me that line, "There's just two kinds of music in the world. There's blues and there's 'Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah'." Then he just closed his eyes again. Later, the sun was coming up and I started to sing "Fraulein," the old folk song, and he kind of woke up and took over and sang "Fraulein" and that was that. I think that was the last time I ever saw him.
Townes Van Zandt - Dollar Bill Blues
Go get yourself a Mega Millions ticket!
Townes Van Zandt - Squash
It is fall, after all.
Townes Van Zandt - Dollar Bill Blues
Here’s to being broke on payday.
Townes Van Zandt & Nanci Griffith - Tecumseh Valley
Amazing.
