Billy Joe Shaver
The Outlaw Poet of Texas BORN 1939
“I’ve spent a lifetime making up my mind to be/More than the measure of what I thought others could see,” sang Billy Joe Shaver in Old Five And Dimers Like Me, one of his legion of classic songs and the title of his 1973 album. Produced by Kris Kristofferson, it remains one of country music’s mightiest debuts. He was the songwriter’s songwriter, revered by Waylon Jennings (who recorded an album of his material called Honky Tonk Heroes) and Bob Dylan (who mentioned him in I Feel A Change Comin’ On). Countless others performed his songs including Dylan, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.
Born in Corsicana, Texas, he was determined to be more than the measure of his dirt-poor youth. He picked cotton, worked in a mill (where he lost three fingers) and was a real rodeo cowboy. After Kristofferson recorded his anti-war Good Christian Soldier and Waylon’s collection was released, Shaver’s eloquence, unashamed hillbilly tropes and rough-andtough truth-telling made him an instant legend, custom-made for the marketing of outlaw country music; his drug and booze intake was epic. But when he shot a “bully” in the face in 2007 during a bar fight, the reality proved more than PR hyperbole. (The victim was grazed and Shaver, pleading self-defence, was acquitted.)
His true grit was never commercially successful. “He is an achingly honest storyteller in a world that prefers something else,” wrote friend Kinky Friedman. In 1993, he teamed up with son Eddy Shaver – a Stratocaster master who blended blinding-fast chickenpickin’ country and walloping hard rock – and simply dubbed Shaver, father and son unleashed the rousing Tramp On Your Street. Other collaborations followed until Eddy’s overdose on New Year’s Eve in 2000. Devastated, Billy Joe responded by playing that same night’s already-booked gig. “I’m not proud of my misfortune,” he explained. “I’m proud of my survival.”