Biography of Townes Van Zandt

Townes Van Zandt is among the most widely admired country and folk songwriters of the last quarter century. Texas-born, Van Zandt has a dry, witty, allusive writing style that looks desolation in the eye and chuckles. Starting with Guy Clark, who became a songwriter after hearing him, Van Zandt has influenced an entire generation of artists, up to and including such current leading lights as Lyle Lovett. Van Zandt's own career has suffered from neglect, however. He began putting out albums on the tiny Poppy label in the late '60s and made one remarkable album after another until 1973, then switched to the equally obscure Tomato label. In the early '80s, his songs began to become country hits, including Emmylou Harris's version of "If I Needed You" and Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard's rendition of "Pancho and Lefty." His At My Window album in 1987 was his first new effort in nearly a decade. By the '90s, Van Zandt was working on an ambitious boxed set of his songs, to be issued by a newly resuscitated Tomato. ~ William Ruhlmann