Overview

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.

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9781648432118

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Reviews

"""...filled with thought-provoking insights""--The Midwest Book Review -- ""The Midwest Book Review"" ""Clifford and Hillis have chosen dynamic musical artists as representative of 'ruthlessly poetic' singer-songwriters. The essays are written in a manner that is accessible to abroad audience of readers and fosters further examination of Texas singer-songwriters.""--Great Plains Quarterly-- ""Great Plains Quarterly"" ""This book promises a tantalizing feast to satisfy avid readers of nonfiction musical history."" -Elmore Magazine --Elmore Magazine"

Author Information

Craig Clifford, author of In the Deep Heart’s Core: Reflections on Life, Letters, and Texas and other titles, is a professor of philosophy and directs the Honors College at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. With his group, the Accidental Band, he performs and records classic Texas singer-songwriters’ music, along with his own songs. Based in Austin, Craig D. Hillis toured and recorded as guitarist with Jerry Jeff Walker and the Lost Gonzo Band from 1972 to 1976. A member of the Lost Austin Band, he maintains active involvement in the state’s live music scene.

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