Townes Van Zandt's Birthday Party

Today, March 7, marks the birth of Townes Van Zandt. One of music's most troubled troubadours. A life stricken with heart break and pain. Struggling with a huge drug addiction and alcohol abuse he could never kick the drug life which kept him out of the public eye for much of his life. Townes never did achieve commercial success unfortunately but that doesn't mean he wasn't considered one of the greatest storytellers to ever live. His songs such as Waiting Around To Die, Pancho And Lefty, and Snake Mountain Blues easily took your attention from the first line until end of the song. He could write a song with ease and have you thinking your listening to a story written by Hemmingway or Twain. It was a shame that he never really did great for himself in the public eye or heath wise. Who knows what could have become of Townes if he was still alive today? He could have been still writing great music collaborating with Bob Dylan or his best friend Steve Earle. He could even be helping out Steve's talented son Justin Townes Earle, who Steve named after Townes out of respect and love. Its sad to see such talent to just go undiscovered or not respected by most people and unfortunately Townes falls under that category. His songs have been covered by many most notably Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson's rendition of Pancho And Lefty. Townes is up there with my favorite songwriters of all time and listening to his songs you can see why. Happy Birthday Townes, RIP.