Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?

Subject: Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?
From: Ebbie
Date: 30 Nov 05 - 09:03 PM

Juneau's Buddy Tabor has a chance at bringing Shaver up for a concert. I'm curious- do you know something of Billy Joe? I've listened to a couple of CDs that Buddy brought me and I still don't know what I think.

Any info?

Subject: RE: Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?
From: Once Famous
Date: 30 Nov 05 - 09:09 PM

He is like Texas and you can hear it in his voice. He is a cowboy poet. He is country music in a way a Kenny Chesney can never be and thank God.

When he gets real country is when I like him best. Never seen him perform, but have like a lot of his music.

Subject: RE: Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?
From: Beer
Date: 30 Nov 05 - 10:33 PM

Ther is a person I haven't heard of in a long while. In fact I'm trying to remember some of his hits. Could you name one or two??
Thanks

Subject: RE: Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?
From: Cluin
Date: 30 Nov 05 - 11:26 PM

One of the original coutry music outlaws, Shaver was mainly known as a songwriter for others, like John Anderson with "I'm Just an Old Chunk of Coal" and his friend Waylon Jennings devoted a whole album to his songs (Honky Tonk Heroes) which BJS threatened he get to and stop promising to do or else he'd take Waylon "outside and kick his ass right now". But Billy Joe Shaver had a hit with his own "I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train".

Other good songs of his to be found on this resrospective.

Another great singer/songwriter Kris Kristofferson produced Billy Joe Shaver's first album "Old Five and Dimers Like Me".

If you like Waylon, Willie, Kris, Guy Clark, etc. , you'll like Billy Joe Shaver. I do.

Subject: RE: Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?
From: GUEST,Guest: Tannywheeler
Date: 01 Dec 05 - 01:38 AM

A reasonably decent human being. Went through *H*E*L*L* for a time in the not-too-distant past--death of a child and a wife in close proximity, but different events and not sure what order, so was in delicate condition for a while. Seems to be roaring back. Writes(and wrote) alot about folks who had it tough. Not a Pavarotti voice, but a storyteller with his music. Some great turns of phrase. I've always gotten alot out of his performances, live or on TV. (My program doesn't want to connect to the internet right now, so am coming thru hubby's program. Compu-doctor coming tomorrow to tell me what's wrong and fix it--I hope.)Tw

Subject: RE: Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 01 Dec 05 - 05:25 AM

Subject: RE: Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 01 Dec 05 - 05:30 AM

In the 70s Billy Joe wrote a controversial ( in some circles ) song about a sexual relationship between a southern white chap and a black woman. At one point in the song, the narrator - talking about the relationship, says " the devil made me do it the first time, the second time I did it on my own". Good stuff, eh! I think the song was called "Black Rose".

Subject: RE: Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?
From: Ebbie
Date: 01 Dec 05 - 10:29 PM

Thanks, y'all. I hope Buddy is successful. Shaver is interested - there's a lot of fishing up here - so if they can agree on financial terms it will probably happen.

Budd says that he only has to draw about 200 people to break even on his cost- and Juneau is notoriously supportive of music and artists. We'll have to do some good promotion, of course, but that's true any time.

About two years before Townes Van Zandt died, Buddy brought him up here for a concert. VZ was already on his downward slide but he pulled off a decent show and Buddy was glad he did it. Townes was always one of Buddy's musical heroes.

Subject: RE: Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Dec 05 - 11:46 PM

Billy Joe Shaver is one of several Texas artists who has appeared fairly often on the Glenn Mitchell talk show on KERA-FM. They always sang a few songs, but mostly they talked. I don't tend to follow country/western too much, but I always enjoyed those shows. Sad to say, our talented talk show host died suddenly two weeks ago. The station held a public memorial yesterday and had several of those local artists perform. I'm sure he'll be missed by many in the music community who gained wider audiences through his support and interviews.

Simply because he was on this program I know he's good. That's the kind of talent Mitchell booked, no matter what their discipline or genre. I'd say "Book him!"

SRS

Subject: RE: Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?
From: GUEST,passerby
Date: 26 Feb 07 - 07:52 PM

I listened to a disc of his today. Thought he was dead and wondered if there would be an obit here, but he's not dead at all.

http://www.billyjoeshaver.com/

I remember when his son Eddy died. I think they just made the one album together. The one I listened to. Billy Joe is more Willie Nelson type but his boy liked rock guitar. They did an album of dad's songs together (modernized & turbo charged), formed a group and started touring. Then the boy died. That's what I recall reading at the time, early 2001. Good guitar work on the album.

From "Just a Tramp on your Street":

I remember the time
No shoes on my feet
I walked ten miles of train track
To hear Hank Williams sing
His body was worn
But his spirit was free
And ev'ry song that he sang
He was lookin' right straight at me

He's pretty literal, so I imagine that happened to him. Words and music probably by Billy Joe Shaver, if you need a disclaimer.

He was in a movie I like called "The Apostle." Directed by and Starring Robert Duvall. He played Duvall's friend. June Carter Cash played Duvall's mom. Drama with a capital D but humorous. Wish they hadn't save Lyle Lovett's rendition of "I'm just a Solder in the Army of the Lord" for the end credits. Excellent movie if you wonder what evangelicals are really like.

Subject: RE: Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?
From: Beer
Date: 26 Feb 07 - 08:21 PM

Thank you passerby for bringing this thread up. Since 2005 already there is big changes. Go to "You Tube" and type in Billy Joe Shaver and there are lots and lots of clips. Love him. Great stuff.
Beer (adrien)

Subject: RE: Review: What is Billy Joe Shaver Like?
From: GUEST,ib48
Date: 27 Feb 07 - 06:11 AM

It wasnt much good for my leg hair