{"product_id":"pickers-and-poets-the-ruthlessly-poetic-singer-songwriters-of-texas-9781648432118","title":"Pickers and Poets: The Ruthlessly Poetic Singer-Songwriters of Texas","description":"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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eContents\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Introduction, by Craig Clifford and Craig D. Hillis 1 \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart One. The First Generation: Folksingers, Texas Style\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Too Weird for Kerrville: The Darker Side of Texas Music 17 \u003cbr\u003e Craig Clifford \u003cbr\u003e Townes Van Zandt: The Anxiety, Artifice, and Audacity of Influence 27 \u003cbr\u003e Robert Earl Hardy \u003cbr\u003e Vignette--The Ballad of Willis Alan Ramsey 36 \u003cbr\u003e Bob Livingston \u003cbr\u003e Guy Clark: Old School Poet of the World 39 \u003cbr\u003e Tamara Saviano \u003cbr\u003e Kris Kristofferson: The Silver-Tongued Rhodes Scholar 49 \u003cbr\u003e Peter Cooper \u003cbr\u003e Vignette--Don Henley: Literature, Land, and Legacy 59 \u003cbr\u003e Kathryn Jones \u003cbr\u003e Steven Fromholz, Michael Martin Murphey, and Jerry Jeff Walker: Poetic in Lyric, Message, and Musical Method 61 \u003cbr\u003e Craig D. Hillis \u003cbr\u003e Vignette--Kinky Friedman: The Mel Brooks of Texas Music 83 \u003cbr\u003e Craig Clifford \u003cbr\u003e Billy Joe Shaver: Sin and Salvation Poet 85 \u003cbr\u003e Joe Holley \u003cbr\u003e One Man's Music: Vince Bell 92 \u003cbr\u003e Joe Nick Patoski \u003cbr\u003e Vignette--Ray Wylie Hubbard: Grifter, Ruffian, Messenger 101 \u003cbr\u003e Jenni Finlay \u003cbr\u003e The Great Progressive Country Scare of the 1970s 103 \u003cbr\u003e Craig D. Hillis (interview with Gary P. Nunn) \u003cbr\u003e Plenty Else to Do: Lyrical Lubbock 109 \u003cbr\u003e Andy Wilkinson \u003cbr\u003e Roots of Steel: The Poetic Grace of Women Texas Singer-Songwriters 115 \u003cbr\u003e Kathryn Jones \u003cbr\u003e From Debauched Yin to Mellow Yang: A Circular Trip through the Texas Music Festival Scene 136 \u003cbr\u003e Jeff Prince \u003cbr\u003e Vignette--Bobby Bridger: \"Heal in the Wisdom,\" Creating a Classic 145 \u003cbr\u003e Craig D. Hillis (interview with Bobby Bridger) \u003cbr\u003e Interlude: What Do We Do with Willie? 148 \u003cbr\u003e --I. Willie (An Early Encounter) 148 \u003cbr\u003e Craig D. Hillis \u003cbr\u003e --II. Willie (On Everything) 151 \u003cbr\u003e Craig Clifford and Craig D. Hillis \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart Two. The Second Generation: Garage Bands, Large Bands, and Other Permutations\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"Gettin' Tough\" Steve Earle's America 161 \u003cbr\u003e Jason Mellard \u003cbr\u003e Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen: Cosmic Aggies 166 \u003cbr\u003e Jan Reid \u003cbr\u003e Vignette--Walt Wilkins: Spirituality and Generosity 174 \u003cbr\u003e Craig Clifford (interview with Tim Jones) \u003cbr\u003e Lucinda Williams: Poet of Places in the Heart 176 \u003cbr\u003e Kathryn Jones \u003cbr\u003e Rodney Crowell: Looking Inward, Looking Outward 185 \u003cbr\u003e John T. Davis \u003cbr\u003e Vignette--Sam Baker: Short Stories in Song 192 \u003cbr\u003e Robert Earl Hardy \u003cbr\u003e James McMurtry: Too Long in the Wasteland 193 \u003cbr\u003e Diana Finlay Hendricks \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart Three. Epilogue: Passing of the Torch?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Drunken Poet's Dream: Hayes Carll 203 \u003cbr\u003e --I. Good Enough for Old Guys 203 \u003cbr\u003e Craig Clifford \u003cbr\u003e --II. Good Enough for Young Guys 207 \u003cbr\u003e Brian T. Atkinson \u003cbr\u003e Roll On: Terri Hendrix 209 \u003cbr\u003e Brian T. Atkinson \u003cbr\u003e From Riding Bulls to Dead Horses: Ryan Bingham 212 \u003cbr\u003e Craig Clifford (interview with Shaina Post) \u003cbr\u003e Bad Girl Poet: Miranda Lambert 218 \u003cbr\u003e Craig Clifford \u003cbr\u003e Challenge to Bro Country: Kacey Musgraves 221 \u003cbr\u003e Grady Smith \u003cbr\u003e Beyond the Rivers 224 \u003cbr\u003e Craig Clifford \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Notes 231 \u003cbr\u003e Selected Sources 233 \u003cbr\u003e Contributors 243 \u003cbr\u003e Index 251\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCRAIG CLIFFORD, author of \u003ci\u003eIn the Deep Heart's Core: Reflections on Life, Letters, and Texas\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Texas A\u0026M University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50648527208722,"sku":"9781648432118","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_91acb571-ed5a-4b90-a7ea-a312c1d84b46.jpg?v=1733243099","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/pickers-and-poets-the-ruthlessly-poetic-singer-songwriters-of-texas-9781648432118","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}