Daily Music Dose: Townes Van Zandt
Considered by many of his peers who knew him as one of the greatest country and folk musicians of all time, Townes Van Zandt lived an often trouble life, filled with substance abuse and depression that lead to his untimely death by heart attack at age 52.
Born John Townes Van Zandt in Fort Worth, Texas, he was the member of a prominent Texas family, whose ancestors were among the founders of the state. In his youth he attended exclusive institutions and was noted for being a good student and athlete. His life was in being groomed for greatness that came with his name. He would be eventually accepted into the pre-law program at the University of Houston and attempted to join the Air Force but was denied entry due to his being, according to doctors, “an acute manic depressive who has made minimal adjustment to life”
After the death of his father in 1966, Townes dropped out of school and began to pursue his music careers, having first started playing at age 8 after a guitar was given to him as a gift. His life at that point began to become in many ways an absolute rejection of his upbringing and past.
Noted for being a heavy drinker and his heroin addiction, he often would show up to shows drunk, too drunk to even play. He enjoyed hanging out in town’s skid rows and making the acquaintances of whinos, bums and other seedy characters. He himself would overdose on heroin and almost die in 1971.
However the period between 1968 and 1973, while being some of the darkest was also his most prolific as a song writer. He produced 5 albums many of which included some of his well known and highly regard songs, including Waiting Around to Die, Poncho and Lefty, and For the Sake of the Song.
He received much critical acclaim during his career but never was more than a cult figure in the music scene. He himself detested the Nashville scene and felt more at home among those considered to be on the wrong side of the tracks.
Through out much of his life he struggled to keep his music in print, and never released albums on major labels despite being regarded as the quintessential songwriter’s songwriter, having his songs covered by musicians such as Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and Bob Dylan. And throughout much of his late years took to playing small venues and private shows to make ends meet, often sleeping on friends couches.
He would often attempt to get clean throughout his life but later on as his health failed, was told by doctors that attempts to detox him would probably prove fatal in his weakened physical state. He died in 1997 at age 52 from a heart attack after surgery which attempted to fix a broken hip he suffered and refused to get treated for a week. 44 years to the day of the death of his own hero Hank Williams, and at the same age as his own father.
Late in his life with attention being placed on his talents, he did begin recording more, including an album of duets with artists who considered him a major influence and what would be his major label debut. However his self destructive ways and early death left both unfinished.
Despite his heard drinking, heroin addiction and what seemed like an ultimately self destructive life, Townes Van Zandt’s genius was still able to shine through. Admired by his peers and considered and many of his songs becoming standards in the genre. Steve Earle said of him “the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.”
