His Live at the Old Quarter album/CD is classic.

From my limited understanding, he was an alcoholic and drug addict. He went on and off several times. He died one morning at the breakfast table, due to a lack of alcohol. I'm neither a doctor nor Townes historian, but from what I understand it's possible to get so addicted to alcohol that you can die without it, similar to other drugs. This is why severe alcoholics need to try to reduce or abstain under medical supervision, rather than their own method, which could be cold turkey.

Steve Earle named his son after Townes. The parallels are scary.

If I Needed You
youtube.com/watch?v=mQ8Gtlu-PXI

I watched the biography film "Be There to Love Me" and found it most depressing. I mean, he passed out with a tube of glue in his mouth and they had to remove some teeth to get it out. I love his songs but he was messed up big time from an early age.

The article left out the other great half of the duet who sang "If I Needed You" --
Don Williams, one of the best male vocalists in the history of country music.

quote:

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Originally posted by Tim Jumper

The article left out the other great half of the duet who sang "If I Needed You" --
Don Williams, one of the best male vocalists in the history of country music.

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Yep, I really liked Don's voice; the harmony he sings with Emmy Lou is priceless. (You'll notice I entered his name on the thumbnail)

https://youtu.be/QHoAg-LlVVM?si=8_isU0kOLF3oo7Me

Townes and Guy Clark were partners in crime. Those must’ve been heady times. Rodney Crowell was lucky enough to witness the whole thing and is stuffed full of stories. Blows my little hay bailin' brain.

An article I read years ago said Townes got sober in AA , went and did a tour of Europe where he was away from his usual haunts and buddies, but started drinking again when he got back home. Many alkies go into delirium tremens (DT’s) when they go cold turkey trying to quit.

He broke his hip falling down steps, his ex took him to the hospital, then,,,,

Saw a concert with Guy Clark (plus Verlon Thompson & Guy's son on bass) and Townes many years ago.
Guy opened solo, followed by a pale and fragile looking Townes who performed like he was alone in the hall with no audience contact.
They took a break and Guy wandered among the attendees taking a smoke and you could tell he was a little agitated and concerned about something even though the sound and music had been very good.
When the show resumed with the Clarks and Thompson on stage everyone was hoping they would eventually be joined by Townes for a few songs, but it never happened. A good show overall, but with a very strange vibe.

Once again Chuck, you did a goodun'. Beautifully done.......and for the other posters, thanks for the cover links.

A great song - one of my few fav favs.

First time I was turned on to Townes' music I couldn't help but think why didn't I know of this guy before. Such a great songwriter, but a sad life story. I play a handfull of his songs, my favorite is Lungs that I play at a fast tempo.

youtu.be/HOdaj8AxhlI?si=D1MncNMhUzgByYut

Just thinking,, who nowadays is writing songs like his, or John Prine, Kristofferson , Guy Clark, etc.?

quote:

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Originally posted by chuckv97

Just thinking,, who nowadays is writing songs like his, or John Prine, Kristofferson , Guy Clark, etc.?

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Indeed. Slightly damaged poets. Many of the aforementioned noted that drying out didn't effect their creativity. But many of them were very well read as well. The list is larger for sure. Also it was a time. Remember Hemingway talked about his lost generation. His was a slightly earlier slice of time. I'm going to just appreciate it, rather than analyze it.  Could be dark. Could be political. Nope. 

Lots of great artists struggled with life.
I believe it gave their creations added depth and a deep understanding of "The Human Condition".