| Townes Van Zandt | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Townes Van Zandt |
| Born | March 7 1944, in Fort Worth, Texas |
| Origin |  Boulder, Colorado |
| Died | January 1 1997 (aged 52), in Nashville, Tennessee |
| Genre(s) | Folk Country Outlaw country |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter Vocalist Composer Producer Arranger |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar Vocals |
| Years active | 1965–1996 |
| Label(s) | Tomato, Sugar Hill |
| Associated acts |
Hemmer Ridge Mountain Boys |
| Website | TownesVanZandt.com |
Townes Van Zandt (March 7 1944 – January 1 1997) was a country-folk music singer-songwriter, performer, and poet. Throughout his career he was widely admired by fellow songwriters, particularly in the folk and country genres, but greater fame eluded him, in part because of his unconventional vocal style and in part because of his erratic personal behavior. Many of his songs, including "Pancho and Lefty," "If I Needed You," and "To Live Is to Fly," have been recorded by other notable performers and are considered standards of their genre.
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Biography
Origins and career
Born in Fort Worth, Texas to an oil-wealthy family, he traveled during his youth around Texas and Colorado. He was the third-great-grandson of Isaac Van Zandt, a prominent leader of the Republic of Texas. Van Zandt County in east Texas was named after his family in 1848. Van Zandt was being groomed for Texas governorship, but he dropped out of college in the 1960s after being inspired by singer-songwriters and deciding to pursue a singing career. He was very intelligent and was diagnosed manic-depressive in his early twenties. He was treated with insulin shock therapy, which erased much of his long-term memory. His lack of memory and his mental condition contributed to both the passion and sense of isolation evident in his songs. One of his major influences was Texas blues man Lightnin' Hopkins, whose songs were a constant part of his repertoire. He also cited Bob Dylan (in particular, Dylan's early records) as having had a major impact on his music. Close friend Guy Clark was also often noted as an influence. In 1968, Van Zandt met Houstonian and songwriter Mickey Newbury in a Houston coffee shop. It was Newbury who persuaded Van Zandt to go to Nashville, where he was introduced, by Newbury, to the man who would become his producer, Cowboy Jack Clement. For much of the 1970s, he lived a reclusive life in a cabin in Tennessee, with no indoor plumbing or phone, appearing only occasionally to play shows. He normally played small venues (often to crowds of fewer than 50 people) but began to move towards playing larger venues (and even made a handful of television appearances) during the 1990s. Generally shy and reserved, Van Zandt struggled with alcoholism throughout his adult life. At times he would become drunk on stage and forget the lyrics to his songs. Some critics believe his alcoholism inhibited his performances, whereas others believe it made his lyrical expression more genuine. His performances showcased his dry sense of humor, a feature that also showed in some of his songwriting.
Death
He continued writing and performing at his own pace through the 1990s until his death on New Years Day of 1997 in Nashville, most likely due to a massive pulmonary embolus (blood clot in the lungs) following hip surgery. When he died, his daughter told her mother "Daddy had a fight with his heart."[1] Van Zandt is remembered as a great songwriter who left a legacy of great songs and inspired musicians. Influential in the sub-genre referred to as outlaw country, his Texas-grounded impact stretched farther than country. He has been cited as a source of inspiration by such artists as Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Bright Eyes, Nanci Griffith, Cowboy Junkies, and Meat Puppets. Steve Earle paid his own homage to Van Zandt, describing him as the greatest songwriter who ever lived, and writing "Fort Worth Blues" as a memorial to the night of his death. [1] A live version of Van Zandt's cover of The Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers" was used during the final scene of the Coen Brothers' 1998 film, The Big Lebowski. The song was also included on the movie's soundtrack. In 2006, the film Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt chronicling the artist's life and legacy was released in the United States. A biography, titled To Live's To Fly : The Ballad of the Late, Great Townes Van Zandt was released in 2007.
Discography
- For the Sake of the Song - 1968
- Our Mother the Mountain - 1969
- Townes Van Zandt - 1970
- Delta Momma Blues - 1971
- High, Low and in Between - 1972
- The Late Great Townes Van Zandt - 1972
- Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas - 1977 [recorded July 1973]
- Flyin' Shoes - 1978
- Live and Obscure - 1987 [recorded Nashville, April 1985]
- At My Window - 1987
- - 1991 [recorded October 1990]
- Roadsongs - 1993
- The Nashville Sessions - 1993 [1974 studio recordings]
- Rear View Mirror - 1993 [recorded live Oklahoma, 1979]
- No Deeper Blue - 1994
- Abnormal - 1996, reissued in 1998 with 3 tracks replaced
- The Highway Kind - 1997
- Documentary - 1997 [issued, re-edit, in US as 'Last Rights']
- In Pain - 1999 [recorded live, 1994/1996]
- A Far Cry from Dead - 1999
- Together at the Bluebird Café w/ Guy Clark and Steve Earle - 2001 [recorded live, Sept. 1995]
- - 2001 with (among others) Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Doug Sahm, and Freddy Fender
- Live at McCabe's - 2001 [recorded Feb. 1995]
- A Gentle Evening with Townes Van Zandt - 2002 [recorded live New York, Nov. 1969]
- Absolutely Nothing - 2002 [recorded live, 1994/1996]
- Acoustic Blue - 2003 [recorded live, 1994/1996]
- In the Beginning - 2003 [recorded approx. 1967]
- Live at the Jester Lounge, Houston, Texas, 1966 - 2004
- Rear View Mirror, Volume 2 - 2004 [recorded live, 1978/79]
- - DVD 2004, CD 2005
- Live at Union Chapel, London, England - 2005 [recorded April 1994]
Quotes about Van Zandt
- "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." — Steve Earle.
- "I think of Townes as the greatest folk song writer that my native state of Texas ever gave birth to. Some of us song writers are just lyricists, but he was definitely a poet." — Nanci Griffith
- "Sometimes there was a lot of words, there was a lot of phonetic hot licks going on. It's the holes you leave, you know, emotionally in the storyline, and Townes was like...It almo(st)...he was so good at it, it sounds unconscious, I don't believe it was, I think he knew what he was doing." [Brown: "How can you tell?"] "..."Well, 'Cause I know Townes, he was a smart son of a bitch, man and he's the coolest guy that ever walked, but he was not unaware of how good he was and what he was doing. I'm sorry, he just wasn't. He knew what he was doing, you know? It wasn't magic. It was fuckin' hard work, and paying attention." — Guy Clark
- "Townes Van Zandt, he died too soon, but now he's up there with Hank and they're both fightin' the Nashville Blues." - Cory Morrow "Nashville Blues"
Quotes from Van Zandt
- "I've met Bob Dylan and his bodyguards, and I don't think Steve [Earle] could get anywhere near his coffee table." — Townes Van Zandt.
- "I don't envision a very long life for myself. I think my life will run out (pause) before my work does, you know? I've designed it that way." — In: Be Here To Love Me (Palm Pictures).
- "Well, many of the songs, they aren't sad, they're hopeless." — Townes Van Zandt, after being asked why he only wrote sad songs.
- "There are only two kinds of songs; there's the blues, and there's zip-a-dee-doo-dah." — [2]
- "Here's a song I wrote during an economics class — one of my very last economics classes (audience laughter). My momma used to tell me, 'just sing, Townes. Don't talk, just sing and play". — From the intro to "Snake Mountain Blues," off the "Live and Obscure" compilation.
- "Doing your best is a process of trying to do your best." — Townes Van Zandt, as quoted in "Zen Guitar."
Trivia and Tributes
Author Anne Rice is Townes cousin from Townes Van Zandt film Be Here to Love Me by Margaret Brown
References
- ^ Kruth, J. (2007) "To Live's to Fly : The Ballad of the Late, Great Townes Van Zandt"
- ^ Anthony Decurtis, "Rocking My Life Away: The Ghost of Townes Van Zandt", Rolling Stone, January 25, 2002
- Lomax, John III. (1998). "Townes Van Zandt." In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 562.
- John Kruth. "To Live's to Fly: The Ballad of the Late, Great Townes Van Zandt". Da Capo Press, 2007. ISBN 0306815532
External links
- Townes Van Zandt: The Self-Destructive Hobo Saint by John Kruth, originally appeared in Sing Out! V48#2 (summer 2004).
- Townes Van Zandt Central
- Townes Van Zandt Blue Sky Homepage
- All Music Guide entry for Townes Van Zandt
- Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt
- Be Here to Love Me on imdb
- Townes Van Zandt discography at MusicBrainz
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Van Zandt, Townes |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1944-03-07 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Fort Worth, Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1997-01-01 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Smyrna, Tennessee |
