Townes Van Zandt

John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997), better known as Townes Van Zandt, was a critically acclaimed American songwriter and singer. Much of Van Zandt’s musical canon--songs such as "Pancho and Lefty", "For the Sake of the Song", "Tecumseh Valley", "Rex's Blues", and "To Live is to Fly"--are widely considered masterpieces of American folk music. His musical style is often described as melancholy in sound and delivery with rich and poetic lyrics. During his early years, Van Zandt was widely respected for his guitar playing and fingerpicking ability.

In 1983, six years after Emmylou Harris had first popularized it, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covered his song "Pancho and Lefty", reaching number one on the Billboard country music chart. Much of Van Zandt’s life was spent touring various dive bars, often living in cheap motel rooms and backwoods cabins. For much of the 1970s, he lived in a simple shack without electricity or a phone.