Townes Van Zandt and Me...

I was just tapped on the shoulder from above and told to write these songs, as opposed to wanting to be a success in the music business. What I do is between me and the Lord, to examine and possibly alter the state of grace in which I live, and thereby the state of grace of anybody who listens.
Townes Van Zandt

Flyin’ Shoes (1978) signed by Townes, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle — ***Flyin’ Shoes (1978)*** signed by Townes, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle

Townes Van Zandt ls 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’ve met Bob Dylan's bodyguards and if Steve Earle thinks he can stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table. he's sadly mistaken.
Townes Van Zandt

An influential songwriter, Townes Van Zandt's songs have been covered by Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Merle Haggard, and Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin does Townes!). An insightful lyricist, Townes was a compelling performer, He led a well documented, shambling mess of a life off stage, and succumbed to his addictions, alcoholism and demons when he was only fifty two years old. He died New Year’s Day, 1997, forty four years to the day when his hero, Hank Williams also departed. As Steve Earle once said, “Townes was a great teacher and a bad role model.”

I saw Townes once. He was doing a small tour with Guy Clark, another acclaimed Texas songwriter, and Erin and I went to see them perform at the Tin Angel in Philadelphia in November ‘95. The Tin Angel is a tiny listening room, with seats for maybe 100 people on the second floor of a bar/restaurant. I was really excited to see this brilliant, yet mercurial performer. As Erin and I approached the hostess in the bar to get our seats, I noticed Townes on the street with his guitar case. I told Erin, 'I’ll be right back.' Outside, I greet Townes, and ask him if he’ll sign a couple albums. He mumbles something. I can’t understand a word he says. I decide to let him go, I’ll see him after the show. I watch Townes as he enters the restaurant, struggling with his guitar, and making his way past the bar and up the stairs to the performance area. Unsteady as he goes.

High, Low and In Between (1972) signed by Townes — ***High, Low and In Between (1972)*** signed by Townes

Guy Clark comes on first and performs some of his great songs: “LA Freeway”, “Desperados Waiting For A Train”, and “Dublin Blues” among them. I excuse myself, and go back to see Townes again, as I was not sure he would last Guy’s set. I hand Townes Flying Shoes and he starts muttering again incoherently. Townes draws some flying shoes on the cover, and then signs High, Low And In-Between. Again, he babbles uncontrollably and not a word can I decipher. He may be speaking in tongues or Swahili, I am not sure which. I accept the signed albums gladly, thank him, and head back to Erin and my seat. Erin asks, “How It’d go?” 'This is going to be a very interesting show,' I reply. Guy Clark finishes his set to rousing applause. Townes comes next.

Frail and worn, Townes emerges from backstage. He has trouble walking. He gets on stage, slumps in his chair, adjusts the microphone, and then drops his pick. Uh oh, here we go. We watch him struggle to get the pick, and the neck of his guitar clangs up against the microphone. A hot mic. I exchange a knowing glance with Erin, this is going to be a disaster. After what seemed like 10 minutes, Townes is able to retrieve the errant pick and mumbles incoherently. Again. Then he starts playing. Beautifully, crisply, flawlessly. I have never seen a more dramatic transformation. “Dollar Bill Blues”, “Flyin’ Shoes”, “Pancho and Lefty”, “To Live Is To Fly”, “If I Needed You”, and an amazing “Tecumseh Valley” in which he deftly wove the Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers”. His brilliance flashed in torrents. It was a remarkable performance. Townes played almost ninety minutes, smiled, got up and staggered off. He was dead within 13 months.

Townes left behind a treasure trove of songs, and he continues to inform so many writers (young and old) like the Avett Brothers, Andrew Bird, Devendra Banhart, Emmylou Harris, Mark Lanegan, Mumford and Sons, Norah Jones and Gillian Welch, all of whom have covered his songs. I mean, when Bob Dylan plays your songs, you know how deep and strong your songwriting chops are. In 2010, the rock icon Robert Plant covered an unpublished Townes’ song, “Harm’s Swift Way” on his Band Of Joy album. It is a brilliant song on a brilliant album, and Plant made it a centerpiece of the tour he did to promote his new album. I saw Robert Plant and his Band Of Joy cohorts – Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, and Darrell Scott – at the Bowery Ballroom and the Beacon Theater in New York City, and they were terrific shows.

Steve Earle tells the story of an early meeting with Townes back in the day:

“About 2:30 in the morning, Townes walked in. It was the first time I’d ever been in an environment with him where we weren’t separated by a microphone. And he had on this beautiful buckskin jacket. And Townes started a craps game and lost every dime he had. And that jacket. Within 15 minutes. And I thought, ‘My hero.’”

Well, I never drank, did drugs, or rolled dice with Townes Van Zandt, but I love his music and his legacy endures.