Ramsey was signed to the Leon Russell label, Shelter Records, in the early ‘70’s when progressive country or Redneck Rock was just starting to gain popularity and included artists such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffett, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Michael Martin Murphy. I was fortunate enough to see him play on the same bill with Michael Murphy in Austin, Texas.
Ramsey’s singing style varies, sounding formally trained and choir-like at times as he does on “Goodbye to Old Missoula.” He also knows how to sing with a flavor as tasty as Texas barbecue with a soulful, bluesy, country voice heard on the slide guitar driven “Watermelon Man” and “Geraldine and the Honeybee.” He can also be very smooth, but no less authentic as he was on “Boy from Oklahoma,” a song written about Woody Guthrie, and his pop-folk rendition of Muskrat Candlelight--still my favorite version of that song.
Several of his songs have been covered by other artists including, Waylon Jennings, Jimmy Buffet (“The Ballad of Spider John”), Widespread Panic (“Geraldine and the Honeybee”), Jimmie Dale Gilmore (“Goodbye to Old Missoula”), Shawn Colvin (“Satin Sheets”), Jerry Jeff Walker (“Northeast Texas Women”), America, and Captain and Tennille (“Muskrat Candlelight”).
I eventually sold my vinyl record collection and replaced a fair amount with compact discs. It wasn’t until many years later that I bought Willis Alan Ramsey on CD, and I’m glad I did. Besides the fact that this is one of the best in my collection, it’s hard to find it for less than $49 used, but I would encourage you to keep looking. I’m not a collector of things, but I do collect music I want to listen to. It might not be worth it to you to drop this much cash for an album. One thing for sure is I’m not giving mine up, and if that second one ever gets released, I’ll be one of the first in line to buy it.
4 comments:
WAR was one of the most-listened LPs in expansive recond collection. Damn near wore it out. I distinctly recall lounging around the Aston Hall dormitory with suite-mate Lyle Lovett and discussing whether Ramsey could have actually written that many near perfect songs. Maybe each of the major song-writing, recording artists who played on the album ghost-wrote them and "gave" them to him. He seemed too young to have written such world weary tunes.
The following semester, the singer appeared on an on-campus stage and buddy Lyle and I both got to meet him backstage. It was one the more memorable moments of my college years.
Thirty years later, I saw WAR perform "the album," song for song, in a backyard concert in Friendswood, Texas. After three decades, he'd only added two or three "new" tunes to his act. But he definitely owned every one of those songs and grown into them with a voice belying the life's journey that birthed them.
Before his "house" performance, about 40 fans shared a pot luck dinner around the kitchen table with Willis and enjoyed, when I brought it up, hearing him recall that College Station backstage visit. To be honest, he only remembered meeting the aspiring singer Lovett...my presence in the small poorly lit room had (unsurprisingly) faded completely from his memory.
A sidenote - Lovett and I regularly visited the local pizza joint's Thursday "open mic night" together. He with his developing playing and singing and I delivering a killer stand-up comedy act. I'm grateful that I never had the heart to tell him that I thought he should spend more time focused on his journalism classes because his singing career was clearly going nowhere.
I, only the other hand, quietly retired from stand-up without any prodding.
Great story. Didn't realize you hung out with Lyle. Small world. I have met a few famous players in my life. It was fun. The only one I would really care to meet now, would be Willie. Seems like someone you could have a conversation with and he reminds me of our family. You probably would have been a great comedian if you had stuck with it. There's still time!
What a fun story! Six degrees of separation...
Really. I've known my cousin practically all of my life and never knew this. I wonder who else I know that knows somebody famous.
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