Pickers and Poets

Many books and essays have addressed the broad sweep of Texas music--its multicultural aspects, its wide array and blending of musical genres, its historical transformations, and its love/hate relationship with Nashville and other established music business centers. This book, however, focuses on an essential thread in this tapestry: the Texas singer-songwriters to whom the contributors refer as "ruthlessly poetic." All songs require good lyrics, but for these songwriters, the poetic quality and substance of the lyrics are front and center.



Obvious candidates for this category would include Townes Van Zandt, Michael Martin Murphey, Guy Clark, Steve Fromholz, Terry Allen, Kris Kristofferson, Vince Bell, and David Rodriguez. In a sense, what these songwriters were doing in small, intimate live-music venues like the Jester Lounge in Houston, the Chequered Flag in Austin, and the Rubaiyat in Dallas was similar to what Bob Dylan was doing in Greenwich Village. In the language of the times, these were "folksingers." Unlike Dylan, however, these were folksingers writing songs about their own people and their own origins and singing in their own vernacular. This music, like most great poetry, is profoundly rooted.



That rootedness, in fact, is reflected in the book''s emphasis on place and the powerful ways it shaped and continues to shape the poetry and music of Texas singer-songwriters. From the coffeehouses and folk clubs where many of the "founders" got their start to the Texas-flavored festivals and concerts that nurtured both their fame and the rise of a new generation, the indelible stamp of origins is inseparable from the work of these troubadour-poets.



Contents



Introduction, by Craig Clifford and Craig D. Hillis | 1



Part One. The First Generation: Folksingers, Texas Style

Too Weird for Kerrville: The Darker Side of Texas Music | 17

Craig Clifford

Townes Van Zandt: The Anxiety, Artifice, and Audacity of Influence | 27

Robert Earl Hardy

Vignette--The Ballad of Willis Alan Ramsey | 36

Bob Livingston

Guy Clark: Old School Poet of the World | 39

Tamara Saviano

Kris Kristofferson: The Silver-Tongued Rhodes Scholar | 49

Peter Cooper

Vignette--Don Henley: Literature, Land, and Legacy | 59

Kathryn Jones

Steven Fromholz, Michael Martin Murphey, and Jerry Jeff Walker: Poetic in Lyric, Message, and Musical Method | 61

Craig D. Hillis

Vignette--Kinky Friedman: The Mel Brooks of Texas Music | 83

Craig Clifford

Billy Joe Shaver: Sin and Salvation Poet | 85

Joe Holley

One Man''s Music: Vince Bell | 92

Joe Nick Patoski

Vignette--Ray Wylie Hubbard: Grifter, Ruffian, Messenger | 101

Jenni Finlay

The Great Progressive Country Scare of the 1970s | 103

Craig D. Hillis (interview with Gary P. Nunn)

Plenty Else to Do: Lyrical Lubbock | 109

Andy Wilkinson

Roots of Steel: The Poetic Grace of Women Texas Singer-Songwriters | 115

Kathryn Jones

From Debauched Yin to Mellow Yang: A Circular Trip through the Texas Music Festival Scene | 136

Jeff Prince

Vignette--Bobby Bridger: "Heal in the Wisdom," Creating a Classic | 145

Craig D. Hillis (interview with Bobby Bridger)

Interlude: What Do We Do with Willie? | 148

--I. Willie (An Early Encounter) | 148

Craig D. Hillis

--II. Willie (On Everything) | 151

Craig Clifford and Craig D. Hillis



Part Two. The Second Generation: Garage Bands, Large Bands, and Other Permutations

"Gettin'' Tough": Steve Earle''s America | 161

Jason Mellard

Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen: Cosmic Aggies | 166

Jan Reid

Vignette--Walt Wilkins: Spirituality and Generosity | 174

Craig Clifford (interview with Tim Jones)

Lucinda Williams: Poet of Places in the Heart | 176

Kathryn Jones

Rodney Crowell: Looking Inward, Looking Outward | 185

John T. Davis

Vignette--Sam Baker: Short Stories in Song | 192

Robert Earl Hardy

James McMurtry: Too Long in the Wasteland | 193

Diana Finlay Hendricks



Part Three. Epilogue: Passing of the Torch?

Drunken Poet''s Dream: Hayes Carll | 203

--I. Good Enough for Old Guys | 203

Craig Clifford

--II. Good Enough for Young Guys | 207

Brian T. Atkinson

Roll On: Terri Hendrix | 209

Brian T. Atkinson

From Riding Bulls to Dead Horses: Ryan Bingham | 212

Craig Clifford (interview with Shaina Post)

Bad Girl Poet: Miranda Lambert | 218

Craig Clifford

Challenge to Bro Country: Kacey Musgraves | 221

Grady Smith

Beyond the Rivers | 224

Craig Clifford



Notes | 231

Selected Sources | 233

Contributors | 243

Index | 251