Favorite musician/ musicians from Texas

[Bossy Monkey]

While my opinion of Texas generally is somewhat mixed, I stand in awe at some of the musicians the state has produced. The folks below are all to the best of my knowledge from Texas. I'll be around and will change out any non-vote-getters as of 50 minutes from now for nominees drawn from your replies, so don't be shy with those "You idiot! I can't believe you forgot__________!" type posts. Hell, I'll even put on Sam the Sham, Question Mark, Sir Doug, or Archie Bell & the Drells. I am not proud.

You know what? I think Steve Earle is going to win. (Edit: What do I know? :D)

This Texas music site http://www.texasmusicguide.com/ has a lot of additional folks (click on "Texas Artists"). On the other hand, they list Alison Krauss, whom I'm reasonably sure is from Missouri, so perhaps a grain of salt is in order. (It also has John Prine and Iris DeMent, but based on what evidence I don't know. Internet searches haven't turned up much connection between these artists and Texas. Lucinda, on the other hand, they didn't have. Go figure.)

This guy has Norah Jones as a Texan: http://www.lonestarwebstation.com/tomgeddie_essential_2004.html
More interesting to me, he indicates that Eliza Gilkyson put a record out last year(!); gotta go pick that up.

I'll add Other as an option in 50 minutes as well, by the way.

Edit: Sir Doug replaces Nanci Griffith; Buddy Holly replaces Robert Earl Keen. This is really hard, innit?

[leftofthedial]

Lucinda is from Louisiana

[Bossy Monkey]

19. Sure, but she appears to have spent decades in Texas

I'd take her down, but it would be unfair to the person who voted for her.

[leftofthedial]

1. Lucinda is from Louisiana

[arwalden]

2. Clay Walker (Hot... And He Can Sing Too!)

[jobycom]

8. Has he learned? He sucked when he first came out.

Came out singing, I mean. :-)

[crispini]

3. yeah, Norah Jones is from Dallas.

And I can't BEGIN to pick. What a choice! Might have to say Stevie Ray, though. Hmmmmmm.....

[jobycom]

4. Gotta add Janis Joplin, maybe Don Henley. Willie Nelson should win.

[emulatorloo]

5. You forgot Poland! No I mean, You Forgot Buddy Holly. . .

[Bossy Monkey]

18. He's up now nt

[Crazy Guggenheim]

SRV.

[CBGLuthier]

6. The Winter Brothers

Johnny and Edgar Winter.

Beaumont boys they was.

EDIT: removed the s from the end of their names. Can;t believe I did that. :-)

[blindpig]

85. absolutely!

Second Winter is one of my all time favorites. Foolish persons that believe that SRV was the last word in Texas blues are unschooled.

[KitchenWitch]

7. SRV, John Prine and Janis Joplin

Now that is music!

[Spirochete]

91. Prine's from Wisconsin

[KitchenWitch]

98. oops

always thought he was from Texas...

[mark414]

9. geto boys

[Dudley_DUright]

10. I know SRV is from Texas

and he definitely has my vote.

[johnnie]

11. I'm going to have to go with

Buddy Holly

[Bossy Monkey]

20. He's up nt

[Bridget Burke]

12. Lots of good ones, but I'd vote for Sir Doug....

AKA Doug Sahm AKA Doug Saldana... The Austin Chronicle devoted their entire music section to him after his death in 1999. I'd especially recommend the article "State Musician of Texas."

www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/1999-11-26/

I saw him play many times--stone blues, country, cajun, Tex-Mex, psychedelic & pseudo-British-Invasion-polka ("She's About a Mover".)

Lucinda comes from Louisiana & learned a lot in Texas. But she left the state & some of the things she's said about her time here are not true. The first time I heard her, at the Old Quarter in Houston, I thought she'd be real good if she could hit the right notes; she still can't.

[Bossy Monkey]

17. I'll do it; I always loved Sir Doug, but...

I suspect he'd get very few votes. Me, I even bought a couple of Texas Tornadoes records. The coolest, even when they let Freddie sing.:D

[Bridget Burke]

60. Yeah, after his first hit he was never a great commercial success...

But he had many fans & continued working on numerous projects until his too-early death.


In his spoken intro to "T-Bone Shuffle" he referred to "The Annals of Texas Music." He never wrote them down, he just played & sang them.

[mcscajun]

13. I'm stickin' with Guy Clark

http://guyclark.com/biography.html

He writes and sings the most marvelous stories. :)

[alarimer]

36. The sister of a guy I work with used to be married to him

Guy Clark I mean. He is from South Texas originally (I thin rockport but I am not sure). It was many years ago and they are with other people now. But it is kind of a fun fact. Aparently Clark used to work at shipyards building and repairing boats (I love that song Boats to Build).

[mcscajun]

38. *That's* What I'm Talkin' About.

Boats to Build, Picasso's Mandolin, Too Much, Baton Rouge. Wooooooooooeeeeeeeee!

:)

And you're right, that Is a fun fact.

[jobycom]

41. Good call. Add LA Freeway and Dublin Blues to your list

I wish I was in Austin, in the Chili Parlor Bar, drinkin' maddog margaritas and not carin' where you are.

Here I sit in Dublin, smokin' cigarettes, holdin' back and chokin' back the shakes with every breath....

The man can write lyrics with the best of them.

I 'd still give Willie and Lyle the edge on songwriting, but just barely.

[mcscajun]

53. Thanks for the tip.

:)

[leftofthedial]

45. Guy is just a great songwriter among great songwriters

He crafts immaculate songs.

[mcscajun]

54. Well put.

:)

[Bridget Burke]

65. "Step Inside This House" is a Guy Clark tune--& the title of Lyle Lovett's

Tribute to Texas songwriters. He studied them & learned from them. Some are fairly well known, like Guy & Townes. Others are only known locally or regionally.

It's a good record. And generous of Lyle--some royalty money went to guys who really need it.

[leftofthedial]

70. outstanding record

and an outstanding project

[KFC]

14. Butthole Surfers

At least their first few albums. I think they are from Austin.

[carpetbagger]

40. The surfers are actually from San Antonio

[peacefreak]

15. Townes Van Zandt.

nt

[Mr.Green93]

16. Joe Ely

Lot of good music from Texas.

[benny05]

47. Maines Brothers

One who played with Joe Ely and have worked with the Dixie Chicks.

What about the Flatlanders--Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, etc?

[GOPisEvil]

21. Hmmm...how about a mention of Texas blues: Lightnin' Hopkins!

[Bridget Burke]

64. Mance Lipscomb also played the blues....

The ex-sharecropper who lived in Navasota actually called himself a "songster"--he played a variety of old-time styles--but his blues would make your hair stand on end. He was the gentle country soul while Lightnin' had left the country far behind.

Lightnin' was related by marriage to Clifton Chenier--who lived in Houston when he invented modern zydeco--rural Louisiana Creole music mixed with modern R&B for homesick folk working in Big Houston. Lightnin' was also a big influence on Townes Van Zandt--they both played at the Old Quarter & shared backup musicians. Townes was a pretty good blues guitarist before he started the long glide downhill.

Les Blank made some fine films about Mance, Lightnin' & other performers--from Louisiana to the Border & beyond. Now available on DVD & I'm going to get a few:

www.lesblank.com/main.html

[flamingyouth]

22. 13th Floor Elevators

[Blue_In_AK]

78. Rock on, Roky...

I was hoping somebody would remember. :)

[sonias]

93. I second or third that motion for 13th Floor Elevators

and Rocky Erickson.

Sonia

[leftofthedial]

23. Walt Wilkins rocks too

Bunch of great Texans.

Ray Wiley Hubbard kicks serious ass.

[Dover]

24. Robert Earl Keen

http://www.robertearlkeen.com/HTML/home.html

[Bossy Monkey]

27. I'm with you. I'm going to see him next Wednesday. He was on the poll

for 48 minutes, but got no votes. Ah well.

[ghostsofgiants]

25. The Mars Vota/At the Drive-in/Sparta

All from El Paso. Sparta and The Mars Volta are the remnants of At the Drive-in.

I consider them the holy trinity of punk/emo.

[Blue-Jay]

26. Delbert McClinton

I wish I could sing like him.

[warrens]

28. Roky Erickson!!

And ? is from Michigan. They must have been the only five Mexicans in Michigan back then.

[vi5]

57. I second the nomination for Roky!

I was just listening to him last night and marvelling at how f'ng good he is/was.

[enigmatic]

29. Townes Van Zandt

There is no other.

[likesmountains 52]

55. I second this one. n/t

[Bridget Burke]

68. Interesting link between Townes & D J Screw (?)

On Sunday, April 17, the centerpiece story in the Arts and Entertainment section of The New York Times was a story about how, via the Slim Thug/Mike Jones/Paul Wall hit single "Still Tippin'," Houston's homegrown screw music was poised to take over the hip-hop nation. Screw -- the slowed-down hip-hop invented by DJ Screw as music for people to enjoy while high on codeine cough syrup -- was presented as something new, weird and uniquely Houstonian.

All of which it indubitably is -- at least for hip-hop. But it's mostly forgotten today that Screw was really the second Houston codeine aficionado to revolutionize a local scene. Back in the late '60s and early '70s, Townes Van Zandt turned Houston's folk and country/Americana music on its head, thanks in no small part to his appreciation for the drug that is today called lean.

I told former Houstonian and Texas songwriting legend Guy Clark about screw music -- which he had never heard of -- and here is what he had to say: "Some things never change. You can always count on Houston's codeine heads."

www.houstonpress.com/issues/2005-05-05/music/racket.html

This was written by John Nova Lomax, music editor for The Houston Press. His dad managed Townes, & Steve Earle for a while. And his family's been into music for four generations.

[Schema Thing]

30. If you had all the above musicians be the only participants in the poll...

...I'd bet big dollars Willie Nelson would be their pick by far.


btw... You idiot! I can't believe you forgot Bob Schneider

[jobycom]

43. Absolutely right!

Willie is an amazing songwriter and musician, and the people who know it best are the other musicians. I heard Ricky Trevino talking about learning one of Willie's songs for a tribute concert. It was either Maria or Three Little Kisses, i forget which. Ricky said it was hard, his songs are more complicated than they seem, like jazz.

He's awesome. I think a lot of people have never heard his full range of work. But other artists admire him greatly.

[GreenPartyVoter]

31. ZZ and Stevie

[xmas74]

32. I gotta go w/ Stevie Ray Vaughn.

But I have been in love w/ Chris Duarte for quite a few years now.

[Elidor]

33. The Reverend Horton Heat!

Lyle Lovett is near and dear to my heart, as is Willie Nelson, but I'll go with the Rev.

[Maestro]

56. Love the Rev!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but I also love Steve Earle, Willie Nelson and SRV. This is too hard to pick!

[Magrittes Pipe]

34. Tim Kerr.

Big Boys/Poison 13/Bad Mutha Goose/The Monkeywrench/Jack o'Fire/Lord High Fixers/King Sound Quartet....

Vaughn wasn't fit to shine Tim's shoes.

[vi5]

59. Is he still sporting that bald on top/dreads on back look?

I haven't seen any pics of him since Monkeywrench which was more than a few years back. That was an unfortunate look on any man, musical genius or not.

His anecdotes on Texas punk/hardcore in the mostly horrid book American Hardcore, are pretty great. Smart guy, that's for sure.

[Magrittes Pipe]

61. Last I saw him, he had it all shaved.

That's really the only way for a bald man to go.

[vi5]

62. What is his current band?

The Lord High Fixers were the last of his bands that I actively checked out. I was aware of Monkeywrench but never got around to listening to them.

[Magrittes Pipe]

71. The last Fixers record came out around the same time...

...as a new Monkeywrench album. That was about 5 years ago, and I haven't heard anything since.

[bobthedrummer]

35. I voted for SRV, wasn't John Lee Hooker from Texas too?

There's lots of great musicians from Texas, I like The Fabulous Thunderbirds too.

[Bossy Monkey]

37. Hooker's another one from Clarksdale

http://www.shs.starkville.k12.ms.us/mswm/MSWritersAndMusicians/musicians/Hooker.html

[lpbk2713]

39. What do you have against Roy Orbison?

Some of those other chumps couldn't hold a candle to him.

Singer, songwriter, and rock 'n' roll legend Roy Kelton Orbison was born April 23, 1936 in Vernon, Texas, to Orbie Lee and Nadine Orbison.

Link: http://www.famoustexans.com/royorbison.htm

[RandomKoolzip]

42. ROKY FUCKING ERICKSON.

period

[oustemnow]

101. "Two-headed dog! Two-headed dog!"

Just some awesome stuff he's done; up until recenly, I primarily knew him from the 13th Floor Elevators, and the Minutemen's cover of "Bermuda." Then I got a Roky Erikson anthology in the mail a few months back, and realized the depth of his oeuvre.

[Zomby Woof]

44. Willie Nelson or Albert Collins

Albert was one of the many great bluesmen from Texas.

Love The Flatlanders too: Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, and Joe Ely.

[Left Is Write]

46. This IS tough. Maybe I should just vote for the Derailers.

[Hissyspit]

48. Jerry Jeff Walker!

[crimson333]

49. pantera brothers

Cowboys from hell

[benny05]

50. Non-Natives of Texas

Alison Kraus is from Champaign, IL.

Jerry Jeff Walker and the Lost Gonzo band pretty much spent most of their time in Tx, even though JJ is originally from NY.

What about Waylon Jennings (and his son, Shooter)? and Don Williams? Bob Wills? Butch Hancock?

Los Lobos? Los Lonely Boys?

Jimmy Vaughn (and the fab T-birds, when they were together)

Nancy Griffith should be included.

[benny05]

51. Forgot Asleep at the Wheel

Ray Benson is great to listen to...

[Bridget Burke]

67. Ray Benson was born in Philadelphia.

He got into Western Swing from old records, formed a band & headed for San Francisco. On tour behind Commander Cody, he came to Texas--where he found that Western Swing was alive & well. Lots of former Texas Playboys were still active & folks still went dancing every weekend.

So he moved to Austin & has continued to advance the cause of Western Swing.

[Bossy Monkey]

76. Nanci was included, but had no votes after 45 minutes

I agree totally and am always disappointed that nobody around here seems to appreciate her.

As to the others, look up. There's clearly scope for a Texas Musicians II poll.:D

[scarlet_owl]

52. Janis Joplin.

[Burma Jones]

58. You Forgot Janis Joplin...n/t

[luvLLB]

63. Los Lonely Boys.....wooooohooooo

[MrSandman]

66. Asleep at the Wheel...nt

[regularguy]

69. I'll go with Ornette Coleman

But really there's too many to choose just one...

[Richardo]

72. Bob Wills, Brave Combo

[jobycom]

74. Wow. 72 posts before Bob Wills is mentioned. Sad. Great choice.

[1gobluedem]

73. CJ Chenier!

I just love zydeco.

I booked him for my radio station's Mardi Gras party in 2004; I have a really funny story about that if anyone is interested....

[Bossy Monkey]

77. Do tell! Really funny stories are always welcome.

Or break it out as a separate thread; it might be kind of buried down here.

[1gobluedem]

82. Well it involved his check...

You know how you can't cash a check at a bank that isn't yours now without sacrificing your first born child, a pint of blood, dental records, etc? I had to cash out CJ's check because they use that money to get to the next gig and I didn't think I'd have enough in the bars to do it. So I called Comerica Bank, explained the situation to umpteen million people and extracted a promise that they would, indeed cash the check in person. I sent CJ with one of my staffers to the bank because I had a lot of other things I needed to get done.

Sure enough, my cell rings and it's my staffer saying "We're at the bank and they won't cash CJ's check." I told him I was on my way and drove to the bank where CJ is waiting patiently (note: CJ is about 6'3" with dreadlocks, two gold teeth, and was wearing overalls with huge rhinestone studs down the side. If he was there to pull a scam, he'd be pretty easy to spot). I explained the situation to the teller, gave her the names of all the people I'd cleared this with, but she was having none of it because "...this check is made out to CJ Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band." I said "So?" and she said, I kid you not, "So where's the band?" CJ and I both said "Huh?" She said "If I cash this check for you, how do I know you're going to pay the band?" So, he said "How do you know I didn't grab five guys in the parking lot and tell you they're my band?"

After I swore on several bibles and in blood, and personally guaranteed the check, they grudgingly let him cash it. CJ and I left the bank and he turned to me and said "I've toured for 25 years and this is the first time anything like this has ever happened." Fortunately for me, he thought it was funny.

[Bossy Monkey]

84. Sad, really, but so long as he thought it was funny I can run with that

Thanks for the story!

[1gobluedem]

86. Now he thinks it's a great joke and tells everyone about it

And wants to play the Mardi Gras again! Another reason why he's my favorite Texas musician.

[Bossy Monkey]

87. A happy ending twice over then

That IS a funny story.:D

[jobycom]

75. Stevie Ray Vaughn OVER Willie Nelson? Y'all ever heard Willie play guitar?

Check out his Spirit CD. I promise you SRV never thought he was better than Willie.

[chaska]

79. Alright the guy's been dead for long enough, somebody's gotta say it...

SRV bores me to tears.

[jobycom]

88. How much did you listen to him?

His singles were pretty boring, but his guitar work was great.

[dean_dem]

80. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead

rocks pretty hard. And yes, that is their band name:

www.trailofdead.com

[jandrok]

81. Don Henley

Just 'cause no one has mentioned him yet.

[jobycom]

89. Ahem... Post 4? Janis Joplin AND Don Henley... nt.

[jandrok]

96. DOH!

Well, uhhhh.....yeah! Don Henley, just like you mentioned!

[dbt]

83. Rodney Crowell!

:bounce:

[Bullwinkle925]

90. Kinky Friedman - not sure if he is a true Texas original, though?

[Bridget Burke]

94. He was born in Chicago but has lived in Texas most of his life....

And he's definitely a true original!

He's in Houston this weekend, where he'll lead the Art Car Parade tomorrow. And he'll shamelessly campaign for Governor.

www.kinkyfriedman.com/

[Tikki]

92. Buddy Holly, Bobby Fuller, Doug Sahm..........n/t

[Ron Green]

95. Lemon Jefferson, Van Cliburn, Milton Brown

[izzybeans]

97. Isn't "And You Will Know us by our Trail of Dead" from Texas?

If so they are a perfect unity between space and place/band name and state. Plus they do rock a little bit.

[Zuni]

99. Freddie King, the Texas Cannonball

great blues guitarist and singer

[Bossy Monkey]

100. The sequel poll, with many of the suggestions above on it, is

languishing here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=3256847
Four-way tie at the moment.