Pophistory: music, movies, history, and life.
Emmylou Harris was born on April 2, 1947 in Birmingham, Alabama. Later, she graduated from high school as class valedictorian and earned a drama scholarship, but fortunately for us she has devoted her career to music.
Below, Harris sings Towne Van Zandt’s beautiful song, “If I Needed You” in 1982. Barry Tashian provides the backing vocals. Check it out.
What is your favorite Emmylou Harris recording? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Blaze Foley, who was born as Michael David Fuller on December 18, 1949, died less than 40 years later from a gunshot wound on February 1, 1989. The singer-songwriter never achieved the fame that some of his friends did, but Blaze Foley, as he became known, left us some beauty from his troubled life.
I ran across Foley’s name recently while reading John Prine: In Spite of Himself
Foley also wrote “If I Could Only Fly,” a song Merle Haggard performed for decades before making it the title song on his 2000 album. Foley hung around in that Texas group of songwriters that also included Townes Van Zandt.
Foley lived an interesting, although short, life. Townes even wrote a song about Foley (“Blaze’s Blues”) as did Lucinda Williams (“Drunken Angel”).
Foley was shot dead in 1989 reportedly because he was protecting an old man from being abused by his son. Foley was only 39.
Below, Foley performs “If I Could Only Fly” at a friend’s wedding.
There are a number of resources to learn more about Foley, such as the book Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley (North Texas Lives of Musician Series)
There is a documentary about Foley’s life entitled Duct Tape Messiah (2011 and 2013), with the title referencing Foley’s practice of using duct tape to decorate his clothes. The movie was directed and produced by Kevin Triplett.
You may find out more about the documentary on the film’s website. There, you may also watch a short version of the film, Duct Tape Messiah.
Finally, Foley likely will be more well known soon. At the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, a movie about Foley recently garnered significant attention. The movie, Blaze (2018), is directed by and written by Ethan Hawke. Benjamin Dickey stars as Foley. Additionally, Kris Kristofferson plays his father, Alia Shawkat plays Rosen, and singer-songwriter Charlie Sexton plays Townes Van Zandt.
Although Foley never achieved the fame he deserved during his lifetime, somewhere there is a drunken angel laughing.
What is your favorite Blaze Foley song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
YETI, a maker of coolers, created a web series about sons and fathers. In one of the episodes, entitled “Anchor Point,” Townes Van Zandt’s eldest son J.T. talks about growing up in the shadow of a destructive legend.
In the video, J.T. explains how his relationship with his father led to him finding his own passion for fly fishing. The short video is a fascinating look at how J.T. found his own path and how he reflects on his father’s legacy. He also talks about how Townes Van Zandt affects the way he is as a father himself. It’s really quite beautiful. Check it out.
“Figure out what it is that makes you happy. Work hard. Forget about the rest. Come home. And be a good man. Be a f-ing man. And go to sleep, and wake up early, and do it again.”
Other episodes in the My Old Man series are available online.
Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
In 1970, Townes Van Zandt sat down for a radio interview with Juliet Brown on Pacifica Radio in Houston, Texas. Through the wonders of the Internet, you may listen to an excerpt of the interview below.
In 1970, Van Zandt’s career was on the upswing after releasing his first three albums: For the Sake of the Song (1968), Our Mother the Mountain (1969), and Townes Van Zandt (1969). His personal life, however, had hit some road bumps as he had recently divorced his first wife Fran Petters.
Van Zandt is engaging and playful in the interview, even reading some news from Paul McCartney about the Beatles. The highlight, though, is when Van Zandt plays his guitar and sings “Nothin'” (around the 3:55 mark).
“Nothin'” would later appear on Van Zandt’s 1971 album Delta Momma Blues
Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Singer-songwriter Whitey Morgan has released a video of his cover of the Townes Van Zandt classic, “Waitin’ Round to Die.” The song is from Morgan’s upcoming album Sonic Ranch.
While Van Zandt’s original version of the song sounds like a sad lament, Morgan takes the song up a notch in both volume and tempo, grounding the sadness in anger and a touch of defiance. I like the Outlaw country take on a song I already loved, making Morgan’s “Waitin’ Round to Die” one of the best covers I have heard in a long time. Check it out.
Morgan and his band the 78’s previously released Honky Tonks and Cheap Motels (2008) and Whitey Morgan and the 78’s (2010). And, in 2014, Morgan released Grandpa’s Guitar
What is your favorite cover of a Townes Van Zandt song that is not “Pancho and Lefty”? Leave your two cents in the comments?
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)