Live Forever - The Songwriting Legacy of Billy Joe Shaver by Courtney S. Lennon
-Texas A&M University Press.
As the title suggests, this is not a biography of the life and times of Billy Joe Shaver, rather it is a collection of interviews of the great and good of the songwriting fraternity from Texas, the outlaw movement and beyond. Some are reflections on meeting the man and others who recognise his natural talent and the power of his music, words and stage presence.
The foreword by Bobby Bare, who signed Shaver to a publishing deal, simply states that he was in every way “the real deal.” Lennon offers a preface that explains her interest in writing the book and the effect his music had on her. From then, it’s on to the interviews, which each include a small biography of the person interviewed. They are, in some ways, as revealing of the interviewees themselves as they are of Shaver. But the over sixty five interviews give you a pretty vivid picture of a man often described as a part of the holy trinity of Texas songwriters - Townes van Zandt, Guy Clark and Billy Joe Shaver. There are, of course other writers who are compared to Shaver but all agree on the poetic power of his words - though, it seems, he always considered himself a songwriter rather than a poet.
The recollections (conducted between 2018 and 2019) come from such names respected in their own right as Rodney Crowell, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Steve Earle, Jessi Colter, Ray Benson, Kinky Friedman, John Carter Cash (who produced the album Everybody’s Brother with Shaver), Marty Stuart, James McMurtry, Jesse Dayton, Rosie Flores, Radney Foster, Dale Watson, Rod Picott, Elizabeth Cook and Jim Lauderdale. There are also pieces from a number of perhaps lesser know artists that I am familiar with, as well as some unknown to me. All of this gives you a rounded picture of his legacy and respect.
Some talk here also about his relationship with his son Eddy and how, at times, he could be a difficult person to be around , but equally many reflect on his kindness and consideration. For anyone interested in Billy Joe Shaver, his work, his lifestyle and commitment as well as the outlaw movement (through the years) this represents and entertaining and sometimes enlightening read and will help his legend ‘Live Forever’.
Stephen Rapid