Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

singer-songwriter and

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers of ...

. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker,

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffe ...

, Kathy Mattea,

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957)Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and releas ...

, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner,

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, includin ...

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

and

Chris Stapleton Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky. In 2001, Stapleton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, t ...

. He won the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

Grammy Award for Best Folk Album The Grammy Award for Best Folk Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the folk genre. Honors in several ...

: ''

My Favorite Picture of You ''My Favorite Picture of You'' is the fourteenth and final studio album by American singer-songwriter Guy Clark before his death in May 2016. The album was released in July 2013 under Dualtone Records, and won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Folk A ...

''.

Career

Clark was born in

Monahans, Texas Monahans is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, Texas, United States. A very small portion of the city extends into Winkler County. The population was 6,953 at the 2010 census. In 2018, the population was estimated at 7,669. History ...

. His family moved to Rockport, Texas in 1954. After he graduated from high school in 1960, Guy spent almost a decade living in Houston as part of the folk music revival in that city. His wife Susanna Talley Clark and he eventually settled in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

, where he helped create the

Americana (music) Americana (also known as American roots music) is an amalgam of American music formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the musical ethos of the United States, specifically those sounds that are emerged from the ...

genre. His songs "

L.A. Freeway "L.A. Freeway" is a song written by Guy Clark in 1970, a few months after he moved from California to Nashville, Tennessee. It was originally recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker for his self-titled 1972 album, and then released by Clark in 1975 on his d ...

" and "

Desperados Waiting for a Train "Desperados Waiting for a Train" is a song written by Guy Clark and originally recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker for his 1973 album '' Viva Terlingua''. It subsequently appeared on Rita Coolidge's 1974 album '' Fall into Spring'', David Allan Coe's thi ...

" helped launch his career and were covered by numerous performers, including Steve Earle and Brian Joens. On his passing, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described him as "a king of the Texas troubadours", declaring his body of work "as indelible as that of anyone working in the Americana idiom in the last decades of the 20th century". Clark had been a mentor to such other singers as Noel McKay,

and

. He organized Earle's first job as a writer in Nashville. In the 1970s, the Clarks' home in Nashville was an open house for songwriters and musicians, and it features in the film ''

Heartworn Highways ''Heartworn Highways'' is a documentary film by James Szalapski whose vision captured some of the founders of the Outlaw Country movement in Texas and Tennessee in the last weeks of 1975 and the first weeks of 1976.AllMovie entry for Heartworn Hig ...

'', an evocation of the songwriter scene in Nashville at that time. Numerous artists have charted with Clark-penned tunes. "The Last Gunfighter Ballad" was the title song of Johnny Cash's 1977 studio album. In 1982,

Bobby Bare Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935) is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs " Marie Laveau", " Detroit City" and " 500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician. Earl ...

made it to the Country Top 20 with Clark's "New Cut Road". That same year, bluegrass leader Ricky Skaggs hit number one with Clark's "Heartbroke", a song that permanently established his reputation as an ingenious songwriter. Among the many others who have covered Clark's songs are

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

, who took "Oklahoma Borderline" to the Top 10 in 1985; The Highwaymen, who introduced "Desperados Waiting for a Train" to a new generation that same year;

John Conlee John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, whose interpretation of " The Carpenter" rode into the Top 10 in 1987; and

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

, who recorded Clark's "

Homegrown Tomatoes "Homegrown Tomatoes" is a 1981 song by Guy Clark, later included on his 1983 '' Better Days'' album. It is one of his best-known compositions. The song reached #42 on the US ''Billboard'' Country chart during the late summer of 1981. The song w ...

" in 1988. Clark is frequently referred to as the Fifth Highwayman. Steve Wariner took his cover of Clark's "Baby I'm Yours" to number one in 1988;

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty albums, and has charted more t ...

charted with Clark's "Blowin' Like a Bandit" the same year. Crowell was Clark's co-writer on "She's Crazy for Leavin'", which in 1989 became the third of five straight number-one hits for Crowell.

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...

and

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many ...

covered Clark's "Out in the Parkin' Lot", co-written with

Darrell Scott James Darrell Scott, known as Darrell Scott (born August 6, 1959), is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. The son of musician Wayne Scott, he moved as a child to East Gary, Indiana (known today as Lake Station, Indiana). ...

, on Paisley's ''Time Well Wasted'' CD. Jimmy Buffett, obviously influenced by Jerry Jeff Walker's earlier quality cover of "Boats to Build" on 1997's "Cowboy Boots & Bathin Suits", then covered Clark's "Boats to Build" and "Cinco de Mayo in Memphis".Remz, Jeffery (June 1997)
Clark finds a set of Keepers

Country Standard Time ''Country Standard Time'' is a website dedicated to country music and related genres including Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1993 by Jeffrey B. Remz as a ...

. Accessed January 8, 2009. Clark credits

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

as being a major influence on his songwriting. One of the most famous photos in country music history was taken on Clark's porch in 1972 of Clark, wife Susanna, Van Zandt, and

Daniel Antopolsky Daniel Antopolsky (born March 19, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter. He plays the guitar, harmonica, and kazoo. He began writing songs in the 1960s, but did not release any of his own work commercially until 2015, when he was 66 years old. He ...

by photographer Al Clayton. Clark and Van Zandt were best friends for many years until Van Zandt's death in 1997, and Clark has included a Van Zandt composition on most of his albums. In 1995, he recorded a live album with Van Zandt and Steve Earle, '' Together at the Bluebird Cafe'', which was released in October 2001. Other live material can be found on his album ''Keepers''. Earle released the tribute album ''Guy'' in 2019. In 2006, Clark released ''

Workbench Songs ''Workbench Songs'' is an album by American singer-songwriter Guy Clark, released on July 10, 2006. It was nominated for "Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album" at the Grammy Awards. Track listing # "Walking Man" (Guy Clark, Steve Nelson) – ...

''. The album was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album at the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

. He also toured with Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, and John Hiatt in 2004, 2005, and 2007. In May 2008, Clark canceled four concerts after breaking his leg. After two months on crutches, he began to perform again on July 4 at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC, where he appeared with

Verlon Thompson Verlon Thompson is an American singer, songwriter,

. On June 20, 2009, Clark announced a new album titled '' Somedays the Song Writes You'', which was released on September 22, 2009. It features originals along with a Townes Van Zandt song titled "

If I Needed You "If I Needed You" is a song written by Townes Van Zandt and performed on his 1972 album '' The Late Great Townes Van Zandt''. It was covered 9 years later by American country music artists Emmylou Harris and Don Williams as a duet, and was released ...

". In December 2011, ''This One's for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark'' (a two-CD set) was released by Icehouse Music and produced by longtime fan

Tamara Saviano Tamara Saviano is an American country music producer and author. She co-produced the Grammy-winning '' Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster'', the Grammy-nominated and Americana Award-winning album '' This One's For Him: A Tribute to Guy ...

. The CD won Americana Album of the Year at the 2012

Americana Music Honors & Awards The Americana Music Honors & Awards is the marquee event for the Americana Music Association. Beginning in 2002, the Americana Music Association honors distinguished members of the music community. Six member-voted awards and several Lifetime Ac ...

. Clark won the

in 2014 for ''

''. The final song that Clark completed was co-written with

Angaleena Presley Angaleena Loletta McCoy Presley (born September 1, 1976) is an American country music singer-songwriter. She is a member of the country trio Pistol Annies, which was formed in 2011 with Miranda Lambert and Ashley Monroe, and has released two sol ...

and titled "Cheer Up Little Darling". It appeared on Presley's 2017 album ''

Wrangled ''Wrangled'' is the second solo studio album by outlaw country singer and country music trio Pistol Annies member Angaleena Presley. It was released via Thirty Tigers Records on April 21, 2017. Background ''Wrangled'' contains several songs w ...

''. Texas country singer/songwriter

Aaron Watson James Aaron Watson (born August 20, 1977) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since 1999, Watson has recorded several independent albums in his career. His 2015 album '' The Underdog'' reached No. 1 on Top Country Albu ...

paid tribute to Clark in his song entitled "Ghost of Guy Clark", released in June 2019. In the song, Clark's ghost asks the protagonist to perform a song and is unimpressed; he then encourages the performer to write songs with greater passion.

Personal life

Clark was married to songwriter and artist

Susanna Clark Susanna Talley Clark (March 11, 1939 – June 27, 2012) was an American artist and country/folk songwriter. She was married to Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark and had a close personal friendship with fellow singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. ...

from 1972 until her death from cancer on June 27, 2012. He had one son, Travis Carroll Clark (December 18, 1966 - October 12, 2017

aortic aneurysm An aortic aneurysm is an enlargement (dilatation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size. They usually cause no symptoms except when ruptured. Occasionally, there may be abdominal, back, or leg pain. The prevalence of abdominal aorti ...

), from his first marriage to folksinger Susan Spaw. On May 17, 2016, Clark died in Nashville following a lengthy battle with

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include en ...

at the age of 74.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations and live albums

Singles

Filmography

*''

'' - Documentary, Snapper/Catfish, 1981/2003, with

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly i ...

, and Steve Earle *''

Be Here to Love Me ''Be Here To Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt'' is a 2004 documentary film directed by Margaret Brown which chronicles the often turbulent life of American singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. The film includes interviews of Van Zandt's imme ...

'' - Documentary, Rake Films, 2004 * ''Heartworn Highways Revisited'' 2015

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Guy 1941 births 2016 deaths American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Grammy Award winners Singer-songwriters from Texas People from Monahans, Texas Country musicians from Texas American luthiers American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists American folk singers American country guitarists American folk guitarists Deaths from cancer in Tennessee Deaths from lymphoma Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Lyle Lovett and His Large Band members