Townes Van Zandt

American folk/country singer, guitarist, and songwriter

• Born: March 7, 1944
• Birthplace: Fort Worth, Texas
• Died: January 1, 1997
• Place of death: Nashville, Tennessee

Van Zandt’s combination of country-blues fingerpicking, comically dark songwriting, and nontraditional vocal stylings inspired other country and rock musicians.

The Life

Townes Van Zandt was born into a Texas family of oil barons and cattle ranchers. He lived a fairly conventional life until he reached puberty, when he was diagnosed as bipolar (then known as manic depression) with schizophrenic tendencies and began a series of electroshock treatments. He spent most of his early youth moving around the country with his family as his dad went from job to job. Some time during this period, enamored with rock and roll and the music of bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins, he began playing guitar. After graduating from high school, he began attending the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1962. During his first two years at the university he was abusing alcohol and was eventually brought back to Texas by his parents. He was admitted to the University of Texas Medical Branch Hospital in Galveston, where he received three months of insulin shock therapy. Van Zandt later told music writer Robert Greenfield that he had staged the nervous breakdown to avoid being drafted into the U.S. military. In 1965 he entered the University of Texas in Houston as a prelaw student. He also began to perform at coffeehouses and taverns, playing humorous songs he wrote to “keep the patrons happy.” As he became more accomplished at songwriting, his material began to tell stories about people he had met—drifters, workingmen, and other street characters. He claimed Bob Dylan and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott as influences.

Van Zandt was living an itinerant life at the time, sleeping at friends’ apartments and houses, drinking, and living day to day. At the same time he began opening for such blues and bluegrass acts as Hopkins and Doc Watson. In 1968 he met songwriter Mickey Newbury, who convinced Van Zandt to try his luck in Nashville. He took the advice, and Newbury introduced him to Cowboy Jack Clement, who became one of Van Zandt’s producers. Van Zandt recorded the album titled First Album: For the Sake of the Song on the Poppy label in 1967. He recorded four more albums over the course of the next five years. In 1976 he hired John Lomax III as his new manager, moved back to Nashville, and signed a recording contract with Tomato Records. He recorded a live album in 1976 and another studio disc in 1978. After that he did not record another album for almost ten years, although he did continue to tour. In 1987 he signed with Sugar Hill Records and recorded his eighth studio album, At My Window. He released three more live albums in the next few years, and in 1990 he toured with the Canadian rock group the Cowboy Junkies. In 1994 Sugar Hill Records released a live album and a studio album Van Zandt recorded in Ireland. He died unexpectedly in 1997 following hip surgery. Several more albums and a movie about his life were released posthumously.

The Music

Our Mother the Mountain. Produced by Kevin Eggers and released in 1969, this is considered by many to be Van Zandt’s masterpiece. His plaintive voice and subtle guitar stylings create a unique and often heartbreaking sound.

High, Low, and in Between. Produced by Clement, the album features some of Van Zandt’s finest songs, including “No Deal” and “To Live Is to Fly.” His sardonic humor is apparent throughout the album, and many of the songs are backed by a country rock band. Van Zandt plays both guitar and piano.

The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. This is the last album attributed to producer Eggers. The followup to High, Low, and in Between, this includes two of Van Zandt’s most recorded songs, “Pancho and Lefty” and “If I Needed You.” It also features covers of songs by Guy Clark and Hank Williams. Van Zandt plays no guitar, only piano.

Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas. Recorded in 1973, this album perfectly captures Van Zandt in performance. The Old Quarter was one of the first places Van Zandt ever performed and a favorite haunt of his. All of the songs feature Van Zandt solo with his acoustic guitar.

The Highway Kind. Released in 1997 only three months after Van Zandt’s death, this was recorded on tour in the United States and Europe. Featuring new and old material and some covers, the disc is at once depressing and light, as only Van Zandt can be. Some critics commented that the performances here were the songs of a man weary beyond his years. The backing band is, as usual, almost perfect in its approach to the nuances of Van Zandt’s performance.

Musical Legacy

Van Zandt was one of those rare artists whose legacy began almost as soon as he recorded an album. His song’s stories of ironic tragedy became the favorite of critics and musicians almost as soon as they were heard. Like Dylan on a smaller scale, his singing style remains unique despite the efforts of others to imitate it. Country musicians such as Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and Emmylou Harris have recorded his songs, as well as those identified more with Americana music, such as Steve Earle.

Principal Recordings

albums:In the Beginning, recorded 1966, released 2003; First Album: For the Sake of the Song, 1968; Our Mother the Mountain, 1969; Townes Van Zandt, 1969; 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; Flyin’ Shoes, 1978; At My Window, 1987; The Nashville Sessions, 1994; Roadsongs, 1994; No Deeper Blue, 1995; Abnormal, 1996; The Highway Kind, 1997; A Far Cry from Dead, 1999.

Bibliography

Kruth, John. To Live’s to Fly: The Ballad of the Late Great Townes Van Zandt. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press, 2007. Kruth’s posthumous biography utilizes interviews with friends and family and articles and interviews written by others to provide a detailed and realistic account of Van Zandt’s life and music. He also includes perceptive readings of Van Zandt’s songs and performances.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. “Townes Van Zandt: The Self-Destructive Hobo Saint.” Sing Out (Summer, 2004): 54-62. This article in a folksingers’ magazine discusses Van Zandt’s bouts with depression and his friendships with other musicians. Makes the claim that one day Van Zandt will be recognized as one of America’s best twentieth century poets.

Tom, Luke. “Songs like Voices from Beyond the Grave.” The Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2003, p. D8. Keenly observant discussion of Van Zandt, with highlights of his career and his influence on his peers.

Zollo, Paul. “Townes Van Zandt.” In Songwriters on Songwriting. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press, 2003. Among interviews with dozens of modern songwriters is one with Van Zandt that provides an intimate look at his creative process.