songwriting the story behind the stories -...

DECEMBER 2017 BUDDY 11

S O N G W R I T I N G

When so many books havebeen written about and by Willie,what could Vaughan possiblybring to the table that hadn’talready been done?

For starters, this is the firstfull-color book that comprehen-sively celebrates the remarkableartist. In this retrospective,Vaughan looks back at Nelson’slife, ranging from his origins andinfluences to his most recentwork. He not only recountsWillie’s musical accomplish-ments but theatrical milestonesas well.

Then, he takes it a step far-ther by chronicling Willie’s manymarriages, children and familylife in general.

Vaughan relates his first meet-ing with Willie at the Easter-timeInternational Festival of Coun-try Music in London, England.“I’d wandered from the sanctityof the press area and somehowturned up backstage, inadvert-ently backing into the imposingPaul English, Nelson’s longtimedrummer and bodyguard.English’s no-nonsense stare wasenough to petrify me, but thetension was lifted when a calmvoice said, “Hi. I’m Willie Nelson.

How are you doing?” Englishgrinned and walked away, andWillie and I chit-chatted for aminute or two. He had recog-nized my nerves, rescued mefrom making an ass of myselfand shown himself to be a manof modesty and charm, and em-pathy.”

That is thetheme that runsthroughout thisbeautiful tributeto WillieNelson. Kind-ness, empathy,and toleranceare words thatrepeat them-selves on thepages. Vaughanwrites, “WoodyHarrelson, aneighbor ofNelson’s in Ha-waii, recentlytold RollingS t o n em a g a z i n e ’ sPatrick Doyle,about his admi-ration forNelson’s kind-ness. “There’s

some freakin’ nut cases that comeby his house on the regular. Theseare people I wouldn’t have over asecond time. And he just treatsthem great, and he’ll give jobs topeople who don’t have money’you know, ‘Sweep this up.’ Heleads with his heart, and it’s abeautiful thing to behold.””

The pictures alone in thishardcover coffee table book areenough to capture any WillieNelson fan’s attention, but thestories that accompany them takeit deeper.

This tidbit may be noted else-where, but Vaughan reports thatthe first song a young WillieNelson learned to play by listen-ing to the radio was Ernest Tubb’s1943 hit, “Walking The FloorOver You.” It is an example ofthe many things you’ll learn fromthis incredible book.

If you love Willie Nelson, thisbook is a MUST have. It is beau-tiful, and what better gift to giveat Christmas time?

Jimmy BuffettJIMMY BUFFETT HAS AUTH-ored over ten books and writtenabout in many others. But, au-thor, Ryan White, has publisheda new book entitled Jimmy Buffett– A Good Life All The Way.

I found several aspects of thisbook appealing. It is filled withinterviews from friends, musi-cians, Coral Reefer Band mem-bers past and present, and busi-ness partners who were there inthe midst of it all. This book is atop-down joyride with plenty ofside trips and meanderings fromMobile and Pascagoula to NewOrleans, Key West and even toTexas.

Texas was as important toBuffett in the seventies as KeyWest. He spent a good deal of

The story behindthe stories

These newly released books would make great Christmas stocking stuffers.By Jan SikesWILLIE NELSON IS UNEQUIVOCALLYWthe most celebrated and written aboutWmusic icon of this century. And, well-

known music journalist, Andrew Vaughan has addedto that growing library, with his new book, WillieNelson – American Icon.

time flying in for shows, thenback out to Nashville or Florida.

Included in the book are twophotos taken by Buddy Maga-zine editor, Ron McKeown, atThe Mother Blues on LemmonAvenue in Dallas in 1975. One ofthe photos is Jimmy Buffett per-forming on stage with Ray WylieHubbard. And the other is aphoto of Buffett sitting at a tablecounting his take from a pokergame. McKeown recalled thatnight. “Buffett sat in a poker gamewith his manager, Larry Bradford,club owner Bill Simonson,Freddie King, Ray WylieHubbard and me. I do recall thathe lost most of it before we walkedout at sunrise.”

Throughout the pages of thisbook, you’ll find similar stories.But, more importantly, you’ll findinside, and in-depth looks intothe shaping of the music thatnow defines Buffett.

Author, Tom Corcoran saidthis about this book, “Finally – afull-length Jimmy Buffett biothat’s accurate and entertaining.Ryan White captures a life ofcreativity, of strumming songs,of taking care of business, and ofowning the stage while dancingto the bank…”

Hayes Carll had this to sayabout the book. “White unravelsthe tale of America’s favorite pi-rate with journalistic vigor andan ear for the poetic detail. Itturns out that Jimmy Buffett’sstory is as interesting and wild asthe countless myths and legendsthat have grown around him.”

Without a doubt, every Par-rot Head will enjoy this bookimmensely.

Kinky FriedmanI’D VENTURE TO SAY THEREis no more colorful character inTexas than Kinky Friedman. Au-thor, Mary Lou Sullivan, has re-cently published a biographyabout Friedman entitled,Everything’s bigger in Texas – The

life & times of Kinky Friedman.Friedman has performed with

Bob Dylan, traveled with LedZeppelin on their private plane,and partied with John Belushi,Robin Williams, Don Imus,Lowell George, Levon Helm, EricClapton, Iggy Pop, MikeBloomfield and Dennis Hopper.

When his cocaine habit nearlykilled him, he returned to Texasand wrote thirty books,including eighteen detectivenovels, as well as memoirs withWillie Nelson and Billy BobThornton.

But, perhaps what Friedmanis most noted for was his run forgovernor of Texas in 2006 wheremore than 547,000 Texans votedfor him.

Mary Lou Sullivan providesan intimate look at Richard“Kinky” Friedman culled fromhours of candid, in-depth inter-views with the Kinkster, hisfriends, and associates.

As you read, Everything’s big-ger in Texas, you’ll find it hard tobelieve that one man could ac-complish so much. This bookreveals the man behind the leg-end and shares dozens of inti-mate iconic photos.

So, I might safely say, here’sanother gift to put under the treefor the music lover in your life.

Merry Christmas!

This photo used in the Buffett book shows him collecting after a MotherBlues gig: Jimmy Buffett, Sandy “Superchick” Jansen and Larry Bradford

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