DISQUS

Rich Miller · 2 years ago

Sun came up it was another day
And the sun went down you were blown away
Why'd you let go of your guitar
Why'd you ever let it go that far
Drunken Angel

Levois · 2 years ago

I hope I don't live like Blaze Foley, but I have to admire his dedication.

Anders · 2 years ago

Terrific post about a wonderful and woefully overlooked songwriter.

There's a book to be written about the Houston folk scene that revolved around clubs like Anderson Fair in the mid-late 70s. The godfathers in that scene were Townes and Guy Clark; the youngsters were fresh-faced kids (some of them teenagers!) with names like Blaze, Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett and Lucinda Williams. Plus you could eat your supper there too--at Anderson Fair, spaghetti was a buck a plate.

FAN of CAP FAX · 2 years ago

Thanks, Rich, for helping Blaze Foley sing for me. I'm a new fan. I love when you write about music. If you ever leave political writing, you should head to Rolling Stone. But, please, never leave us. You are sense in an unsensable Springfield.

Anon · 2 years ago

Im goin down to that river
the one that's cold as ice
Im goin down to the river
and Lord Im gonna pay the price
oh Lord
Im goin down in it three times
but Lord im only comin up twice.

Hank Williams (NOT Junior)

Rich Miller · 2 years ago

I don't really have the talent or inclination to write about music full time, but thanks for your kind words.

Anon · 2 years ago

Rich, Thanks for the great writing. He is a perfect example of what we are missing from our radios today.

L.S. · 2 years ago

I love country and folk but have never heard of this guy. Thanks for the info Rich.

walter sobchak · 2 years ago

The best kind of read. Never heard of him, never heard him sing, didn't know his lyrics, clicked every link, listened to every song, wish I had known of him when he lived, will keep his work and art alive listening to his music and passing this along to my friends.

Rich Miller · 2 years ago

One of the things that I didn't mention above (as if it wasn't long enough already), was that Newt Gingrich, of all people, was a huge Foley fan back when Foley was living in Atlanta...

===In Atlanta, he worked his way up to opening sets at Rosa's Cantina, a well-known touring stop for acoustic and roots acts. One of his first high-profile fans was an aspiring politician named Newt Gingrich who liked hanging around the hippies and even smoked dope according to some witnesses. Gingrich showed up often enough to declare Blaze Foley "my own Bob Dylan."===

NIEVA · 2 years ago

Rich, I have been a prine fan for years and this guy sounds like he could have been one of his writers. JP is one of the greats in the music field!!

Boone Logan Square · 2 years ago

Rich, do you ever read No Depression magazine? It ran a nice extended profile on Foley (I believe by the writer whose website you linked here) about a year ago.

hank · 2 years ago

hey rich.
good piece on blaze, he was a good friend and we had some times . i have some great video with him at the austin outhouse and other places around included my front porch .
he was a great songsmith i got the call the night he was shot and didnt think he would die from it ,but they just took thier sweet time getting to him because he had no money or insurance ,so he was left too long bleeding in the hall and died .
i have been trying to work a deal with his sister to do a dvdof him but the legal crap has kept it slow going .
hank sinatra

Rich Miller · 2 years ago

Hank Sinatra, for those of you who don't know, was a local legend in Springfield before moving to Austing and becoming an indispensable chronicler of singer-songwriters.

Thanks for dropping by, Hank. Hope to see you soon.

Duke · 2 years ago

As a middle-aged folky (aren't we all), I was hearing these covers and wondered who wrote them. Bless you for the positive in the midst of the negative.

skumm · 2 years ago

Hey Rich, nice article, thanks for linking to the Cold Cold World video. Here's a blurb from the website selling the new CD of the same name.:Cold, Cold World captures Blaze Foley and his working band - the Beaver Valley Boys - from their first Texas studio recordings dating from 1979 and 1980. Blaze and the band - anchored by the renowned Gurf Morlix - are at the top of their form. Cold, Cold World includes 17 Foley songs that range from several of his well-known classics to six songs that appear on a Foley recording for the first time. The studio sessions were produced by Gurf Morlix and John Hill.

“Blaze and the Beaver Valley Boys were a big part of a healthy Houston club scene in the late 1970’s,” said band mate Gurf Morlix. “We had our share of fun, but mostly it was about the songs. This album represents the music as it existed then, raw and beautiful. Blaze has never been captured like this on CD. These recordings represent a special moment in time.”
here's a link to the site:http://www.lostartrecords.com/coldcoldworld/index.html