RIP: Eric Taylor, A Folksinger’s Folksinger

“In the midst of all of "this," it would be a shame for the recent death of one of America's best songwriters to come out of Texas or really anywhere to go unnoticed. And other than a wonderful obit in the NYT by Bill Friskics-Warren, it appears to have. I first caught up with Eric Taylor in a Quaker meeting house in Phoenixville, PA. I'd been hearing about him for years: Vietnam vet, ex-junkie, first wife was Nanci Griffith, came out of the same Houston folk scene of the late 60s/early 70s that produced Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt, the latter of whom was one of Eric's running buddies. He was revered by Lyle Lovett, who covered several of his songs, as did legendary folkies such as Joan Baez. As Eric wrote in the liner notes to one of his records, "I have some formidable friends and I'm proud of 'em." Eric even appeared on Letterman with some of 'em'."

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