R.I.P. Guy Clark

Senor McGuire

R.I.P. Guy Clark

Senor McGuire

The iconic Texan country music songwriter Guy Clark died today. The Austin American Statesman reports that Clark’s family has confirmed his passing, though no cause of death has been revealed. He was 74.

Clark grew up in small-town Texas and spent some time in the Peace Corps before opening a guitar shop in Houston and launching a singer-songwriter career. He moved to Nashville in 1971, where his wizened, finely observed songs helped develop the ’70s outlaw country sound. Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, David Allan Coe, Ricky Skaggs, and many others recorded Clark’s songs, and some of them — “Desperadoes Waiting For A Train,” “LA Freeway” — are some of the most iconic of their era.

Clark also recorded albums of his own, starting with 1975’s Old No. 1. He kept recording and touring throughout the decades, and he released his last album, My Favorite Picture Of You, in 2013. Last year, Austin City Limits hosted a tribute to Clark, and Jason Isbell covered his “Desperadoes Waiting For A Train.”

Below, watch a couple of videos of Clark at work.

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