Guy Clark - Old No. 1
On this week's episode we look a one of the finest songwriters to come out of Texas, Guy Clark, and his 1975 debut LP Old No. 1.
While Clark is considered one of the great county and folk songwriters of the latter half of the 20th Century, he is also one of the least appreciated when it comes to recording his own songs. On Old No. 1, he records his own songs, many of which had already been made famous by the likes of the Everly Brothers and Jerry Jeff Walker, among many others. Originally recorded in a way that did not meet Clark's vision, that version was ultimately scrapped. The version that was released was essentially a collection of demos, that took on new life when guests musicians and friends such as Rodney Crowell, Emmy Lou Harris, Johnny Gimble, Steve Earl, and David Briggs joined in. The album puts the focus squarely where it belongs, on the songwriting and provides a wonderful framework for Clark's poetic and reflective storytelling.
Recommendation for this episode: I Walked in Them Shoes by Adam Carroll.
THINGS WE DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE
Matriarch of the Clark Clan, Rosie Clark,
She operated the 13 room Clark Hotel in Monahans, Texas, which catered to oil field workers in addition to travelers passing through. The hotel also had a small living quarters for the family.
Here is Guy’s father, Ellis, standing outside of the Clark Hotel in Monahans, Texas.
Elsie Jackson “Jack” Prigg was Rosie Clark’s wildcatter boyfriend. When Ellis Clark was away during World War II, Jack Prigg acted as Guy’s father figure. He was such a big influence on the family that when Guy's third sister was born, she was given the middle name Jackson to honor of him.
Here’s a picture of Jack Prigg holding a young Guy Clark. Their relationship was immortalized in the song “Desperados Waiting For The Train.”
While he was a teen in Rockport, Texas, Guy got a job at Rob Roy Rice's Shipyard, where watched the Carpenters build ships and learned how to work with wood.
This would translate later into a passion for making guitars.
Lola Bonner, a young law partner of Guy’s dad, wasca big influence on young Guy.
She showed him how to play the guitar, and took him to parties where people would gather around a guitar and take turns playing and singing.
Guy met Townes Van Zandt when Townes attending to a taping of a weekly folk program on public radio station KHOU in Houston, Texas. The two of them we were part of the burgeoning fold scene in Houston. They kept bumping into each other around town and became fast friends.
That’s Townes on the left, and Susanna in the middle.
When Townes was around, he and Guy would pick up one-nighters at college campuses and folk clubs within a day’s drive of Houston.They ended up in the apartment of Bunny Talley and her older sister, Susanna (who would after one such stop in Oklahoma City, OK.
Susanna and Guy would become close after the death of Susanna’s sister Bunny and the death of Jack Prigg. The two would eventually marry.
While Guy and Susanna lived in Los Angeles, he payed in a bluegrass outfit called the City Limits String Band. The band featured Skinny Dennis Sanchez (pictured) on bass.
Guy would later reference Skinny Denise in the song L.A. Freeway as one of the few things he would miss about Los Angeles.
The Clark house was home base for Nashville’s songwriting community throughout the 1970s. By all accounts, Susanna Clark was the thread holding it all together. Here is a scene filmed at Guy and Susanna’ home on Christmas Eve 1975 from the wonderful documentary Heartworn Highways.
Here is a clip of Guy Clark playing “L.A. Freeway” on the Austin City Limit 1983 Songwriters Special. On stage with him is by John Prine, Billy Joe Shaver, Rodney Crowell, Bill Caswell, and Keith Sykes.
By the time Guy Clark recorded his debut album in 1975, he had already made a name for himself as a songwriter of some renown, having his songs recorded by a vast array of musicians. In 1972, the Everly Brother recorded a version of “A Nickel for the Fiddler.”
Here is Guy Clark performing “Desperados Waiting For A Train” on Austin City Limits in 1989.
In addition to being a singer and a songwriter, Guy Clark was also a master guitar builder, or luthier. Here is a clip of him in 2013 discussing how the two disciplines compliment each other.
