History
The event was organized by Susanna Clark (Clark's wife) as a benefit for the Interfaith Dental Clinic, an organization that works to "restore, protect, and improve the oral health of uninsured, low-income, working people and their children in the greater Nashville area." [11] In the liner notes, Clark says, "When I asked Guy, Townes, and Steve to help me raise money for the Interfaith Dental Clinic, I had no idea what a stir it would cause." [12] The clinic is mentioned in the program by Van Zandt who had been a recipient of their services. Van Zandt tells a story of an incident in which he lost a gold tooth while shooting dice.
The recording took place on September 3, 1995, at The Bluebird Café in Nashville, a nationally renowned venue for songwriters. The owner and manager, Amy Kurland, described the show as "one of the best" in 19 years. [12] [13]
The concert took place 15 months before Van Zandt's death. Just as in his Live at the Old Quarter 22 years earlier, Van Zandt's humor, wedged between some very sad songs is a prominent feature. The stripped-down versions of Earle's songs are also unusual. Earle's own live performances and albums rarely offer the listener so many chances to hear his music without the backing of a full band. Clark spends the least time talking between songs, allowing his songs to tell their own stories. Occasionally the artists interact, such as when Clark joins Earle on the "Mercenary Song".
A female vocalist not credited in the liner notes, but apparently Emmylou Harris adds a harmony vocal to Guy Clark's "Immigrant Eyes" and on Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road". [2] Earle names Mark Stuart as the additional guitarist on "Copperhead Road".
Stephen Fain Earle is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music genre, Earle branched out into multiple genres of rock music, bluegrass, folk music and blues.
John Townes Van Zandt was an American singer-songwriter. He wrote numerous songs, such as "Pancho and Lefty", "For the Sake of the Song", "If I Needed You", "Tecumseh Valley", "Tower Song", "Rex's Blues", and "To Live Is to Fly", that are widely considered masterpieces of American songwriting. His musical style has often been described as melancholic and features rich, poetic lyrics. During his early years, Van Zandt was respected for his guitar playing and fingerpicking ability.
Guy Charles Clark was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffett, Kathy Mattea, Lyle Lovett, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Nanci Griffith and Chris Stapleton. He won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album: My Favorite Picture of You.
Richard James Joseph Dobson II was an American singer-songwriter and author. Dobson was part of the outlaw country movement and spent time in the 1970s with Townes Van Zandt, Mickey White, Rex "Wrecks" Bell, Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, and "Skinny" Dennis Sanchez.
John Lomax III is an American journalist, music distributor and manager who has worked with many country music and folk music musicians, such as Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, David Schnaufer, The Cactus Brothers, Kasey Chambers and many others. In 2010, Lomax was recognized for his work sharing country music with the Jo Walker-Meador International Award by the Country Music Association.
The Bluebird Café is a 90-seat music club in Nashville, Tennessee that opened in 1982. The club features acoustic music performed by both established singer-songwriters, and cover artists. The Bluebird receives over 70,000 visitors annually. The restaurant has been featured as a location on ABC's drama Nashville.
Susanna Talley Clark was an American artist and country/folk songwriter. She was married to Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark and had a close personal friendship with fellow singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt.
Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas is a double live album by Texas singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. The recording captures Van Zandt in a series of July 1973 performances in an intimate venue Old Quarter. There is a strong critical consensus that this recording is among the most exemplary of Van Zandt's career.
The Late Great Townes Van Zandt is a 1972 studio album by Texas singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. It was the second album that he recorded in 1972, and a follow-up to High, Low and In Between.
For the Sake of the Song is the debut album by country singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt, released in 1968. The majority of the songs, including the title track, "Tecumseh Valley", "(Quicksilver Daydreams of) Maria", "Waitin' Around to Die", and "Sad Cinderella", were re-recorded in more stripped-down versions for subsequent studio albums.
Our Mother the Mountain is the second album by country singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt, released in 1969. It is considered to be one of his greatest recordings and features some of his best known works, including "Be Here To Love Me", "Snake Mountain Blues" and "Our Mother The Mountain".
Skinny Dennis Sanchez was a country musician in the Los Angeles area. He played the upright bass, most famously accompanying Nashville musician Guy Clark during Clark's stay in Los Angeles. His nickname is in reference to his having Marfan syndrome; Sanchez stood at 6'11", and weighed 135 lbs.
Flyin' Shoes is an album released by folk/country singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt in 1978. It was his first album of original material in five years and was produced by Chips Moman.
At My Window is an album released by folk/country singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt in 1987. This was Van Zandt's first studio album in the nine years that followed 1978's Flyin' Shoes, and his only studio album recorded in the 1980s.
Be Here To Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt is a 2004 documentary film directed by Margaret Brown which chronicles the often turbulent life of American singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. The film includes interviews of Van Zandt's immediate family and contemporaries such as Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle and Guy Clark along with "home movies, old TV performances and, especially, mid-Seventies footage originally filmed by James Szalapski for his outlaw country documentary Heartworn Highways."
The Hard Way is the fourth studio album by Steve Earle, released in 1990. Earle is backed by the Dukes. The album is dedicated to Emilio Lorenzo Ensenat (1930–90).
Just An American Boy is a live album by Steve Earle. The album was released in 2003.
Heartworn Highways is a documentary film by James Szalapski whose vision captured some of the founders of the Outlaw Country movement in Texas and Tennessee in the last weeks of 1975 and the first weeks of 1976. The film was not released theatrically until 1981.
Cold Dog Soup is an album by the American singer-songwriter Guy Clark, released in 1999.
The Nashville Sessions is an album by Texas singer and songwriter Townes Van Zandt, recorded in 1973 but not released until 1993. The tracks were originally recorded for what would have been Van Zandt's seventh album, but was not released until twenty years later due to a dispute between producer Jack Clement and Poppy Records founder Kevin Eggers. The record has been described those who knew Van Zandt as a crucial "missing link" in his discography.
[2] 