* You’ve probably never heard of Blaze Foley. A singer-songwriter who died in 1989, Foley was mostly forgotten, although he was barely known to begin with.
Foley lived hard. He didn’t care about what others thought of his life, his appearance, his choices. He alienated many of his friends with his rough and tumble ways, rarely had a home of his own, drank all the time and got in too many fights with friend and foe alike…
My first memories of Blaze Foley date back to emmajoe’s. He was decked out in duct tape and mercurochrome. He was asleep under the pool table. A game of 8-ball was in progress on the green felt above him. Every time someone made a ball and it dropped with a thud Blaze would rouse up, smack his forehead on the bottom of the table and sprawl back out. Several championships were decided over his head as he slumbered on.
Through the haze of alcohol and drugs, and the perils of brawls and homelessness Blaze did his best to remain dedicated to his art…
[H]e told me that he was totally committed to his career as a songwriter and would never have a day job because that might dull his ambition or detour him from his artistic goals. He was uncompromising on that point and I never knew him to hold down a job just so he could pay rent. Blaze preferred the sofa circuit and he rotated among friends and lovers for sleeping quarters. He didn’t even have a car to sleep in in a pinch. And he didn’t care.
You can listen to Foley’s original version by clicking the RealPlayer button below…
Wrecks Bell hosted Foley on his couch many times over the years and also covered the song. It’s a thing of pure beauty…
If I could only fly
If I could only fly
I’d bid this place goodbye
To come and be with you
But I can hardly stand
Got nowhere to run
Another sinkin’ sun
One more lonely night
Prine began researching Foley, and in the process, received a bootleg tape from a friend in Austin, Texas. Foley sang a scruffy version of “If I Could Only Fly,” followed by “Clay Pigeons.” “When I heard ‘Clay Pigeons,’ I thought, ‘Man, that sounds like me,’ ” Prine said. “I couldn’t get the song out of my head. And when I can’t get a song out of my head, I have to learn it.”
Listen below…
[audio:claypigeons.mp3]
I’m tired of running ’round looking for answers to questions that I already know
I could build me a castle of memories just to have somewhere to go
Count the days and the nights that it takes to get back in the saddle again
Feed the pigeons some clay
Turn the night into day
Start talking again when I know what to say
* Foley was shot and killed in 1989 while trying to help a friend fend off an attack. Years later, Lucinda Williams, a country goddess who knew Foley from her Austin days, wrote a song about Foley’s life and death called “Drunken Angel”…
Followers would cling to you
Hang around just to meet you
Some threw roses at your feet
And watch you pass out in the street
Drunken Angel
Feed you and pay off all your debts
Kiss your brow, taste your sweat
Write about your soul your guts
Criticize you and wish you luck
Drunken Angel
* Foley was a running buddy of the legendary Townes Van Zandt. Townes also wrote a song about Foley after his death called Blaze’s Blues. Here are the two friends singing one of my favorite Townes songs, “Snowing on Raton”…
* As with most folk/country songwriters, Foley was also political. He had no love for Ronald Reagan and wrote a stinging song about the president back in the mid-1980s called “Oval Room”…
At the factory, never been so slow
Got a big fourth down, ninety nine to go
And down on the farm, nothing growing there
But the debts they owe and their gray hair
In the desert sand, and the jungle deep
He thinks everything is his to keep
He’s a real cowboy, with his makeup on
Talks to kings and queens on the telephone
He’s the president, but I don’t care
* But he wrote some great, sad country songs about lost love and lost lives. Here’s one called Faded Loves….
Faded loves, and memories
How they take the best of me
This old chain around my shoulder’s
only makin’ me look older
Than I am — I’ll get over you someday
* Foley’s mother was a gospel singer and Blaze played in her band. Here’s a gospel number he wrote called “Let Me Ride in Your Big Cadillac”…
Let me ride in your big Cadillac, Lord Jesus
Let me ride in your big Cadillac
I can see the pearly gates
Where the angels wait
Standin’ all around your big Cadillac
Won’t you take me by the hand
Lead me to the promised land
And let me ride in your big Cadillac
His voice had its moments, but his real value was as a songwriter.
In reaction to the Urban Cowboy craze sweeping across the city, he mocked the make-believe cowboys with their shiny silver boot tips by putting duct tape on the tips of his boots […]
He loved duct tape, the miracle binder that kept his clothes and his life together. Foley slapped the adhesive to shoes, jeans, shirts, hats, jackets. Once he made a whole suit out of duct tape. Friends dubbed him the Duct Tape Messiah.
He was even buried in a coffin covered in duct tape.
* Interest has surged in Blaze’s music in the past few years. Lyle Lovett covered another Foley tune in 2003, “Election Day.” And Foley’s family has released three new CDs.
* 100 percent of the profits from the movie will be donated to a project for the homeless. Foley was a champion of the homeless. This is what Townes Van Zandt had to say about Foley’s cause…
“He was a friend of the homeless, poor, elder, a real super caring guy. And he would sometimes seem bitter, you know. The only reason for that is he was brimming over with so much genuine love and caring. To see an injustice sometimes it would just put him over to a frenzy, kind of. He couldn’t stand to see a poor bag lady on the street. It threw him into a rage, almost. It just came from love.”
* Here’s one last Foley tune, this one covered by Gurf Morlix. Cold, Cold World…
I can’t get no job and I can’t get no rest
I started out east, but I ended up west
And I’m so glad to be here I’m sure, I would guess
Ain’t it a cold, cold world
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 12:24 pm
Comments
Sun came up it was another day
And the sun went down you were blown away
Why’d you let go of your guitar
Why’d you ever let it go that far
Drunken Angel
Terrific post about a wonderful and woefully overlooked songwriter.
There’s a book to be written about the Houston folk scene that revolved around clubs like Anderson Fair in the mid-late 70s. The godfathers in that scene were Townes and Guy Clark; the youngsters were fresh-faced kids (some of them teenagers!) with names like Blaze, Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett and Lucinda Williams. Plus you could eat your supper there too–at Anderson Fair, spaghetti was a buck a plate.
Thanks, Rich, for helping Blaze Foley sing for me. I’m a new fan. I love when you write about music. If you ever leave political writing, you should head to Rolling Stone. But, please, never leave us. You are sense in an unsensable Springfield.
Comment by FAN of CAP FAX Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 1:35 pm
Im goin down to that river
the one that’s cold as ice
Im goin down to the river
and Lord Im gonna pay the price
oh Lord
Im goin down in it three times
but Lord im only comin up twice.
The best kind of read. Never heard of him, never heard him sing, didn’t know his lyrics, clicked every link, listened to every song, wish I had known of him when he lived, will keep his work and art alive listening to his music and passing this along to my friends.
Comment by walter sobchak Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 3:52 pm
One of the things that I didn’t mention above (as if it wasn’t long enough already), was that Newt Gingrich, of all people, was a huge Foley fan back when Foley was living in Atlanta…
===In Atlanta, he worked his way up to opening sets at Rosa’s Cantina, a well-known touring stop for acoustic and roots acts. One of his first high-profile fans was an aspiring politician named Newt Gingrich who liked hanging around the hippies and even smoked dope according to some witnesses. Gingrich showed up often enough to declare Blaze Foley “my own Bob Dylan.”===
Rich, do you ever read No Depression magazine? It ran a nice extended profile on Foley (I believe by the writer whose website you linked here) about a year ago.
Comment by Boone Logan Square Saturday, Oct 27, 07 @ 1:18 pm
hey rich.
good piece on blaze, he was a good friend and we had some times . i have some great video with him at the austin outhouse and other places around included my front porch .
he was a great songsmith i got the call the night he was shot and didnt think he would die from it ,but they just took thier sweet time getting to him because he had no money or insurance ,so he was left too long bleeding in the hall and died .
i have been trying to work a deal with his sister to do a dvdof him but the legal crap has kept it slow going .
hank sinatra
Hank Sinatra, for those of you who don’t know, was a local legend in Springfield before moving to Austing and becoming an indispensable chronicler of singer-songwriters.
Thanks for dropping by, Hank. Hope to see you soon.
As a middle-aged folky (aren’t we all), I was hearing these covers and wondered who wrote them. Bless you for the positive in the midst of the negative.
Hey Rich, nice article, thanks for linking to the Cold Cold World video. Here’s a blurb from the website selling the new CD of the same name.:Cold, Cold World captures Blaze Foley and his working band - the Beaver Valley Boys - from their first Texas studio recordings dating from 1979 and 1980. Blaze and the band - anchored by the renowned Gurf Morlix - are at the top of their form. Cold, Cold World includes 17 Foley songs that range from several of his well-known classics to six songs that appear on a Foley recording for the first time. The studio sessions were produced by Gurf Morlix and John Hill.
“Blaze and the Beaver Valley Boys were a big part of a healthy Houston club scene in the late 1970’s,” said band mate Gurf Morlix. “We had our share of fun, but mostly it was about the songs. This album represents the music as it existed then, raw and beautiful. Blaze has never been captured like this on CD. These recordings represent a special moment in time.”
here’s a link to the site:http://www.lostartrecords.com/coldcoldworld/index.html
* You’ve probably never heard of Blaze Foley. A singer-songwriter who died in 1989, Foley was mostly forgotten, although he was barely known to begin with. 
Followers would cling to you
Let me ride in your big Cadillac, Lord Jesus
Sun came up it was another day
And the sun went down you were blown away
Why’d you let go of your guitar
Why’d you ever let it go that far
Drunken Angel
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 1:01 pm
I hope I don’t live like Blaze Foley, but I have to admire his dedication.
Comment by Levois Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 1:10 pm
Terrific post about a wonderful and woefully overlooked songwriter.
There’s a book to be written about the Houston folk scene that revolved around clubs like Anderson Fair in the mid-late 70s. The godfathers in that scene were Townes and Guy Clark; the youngsters were fresh-faced kids (some of them teenagers!) with names like Blaze, Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett and Lucinda Williams. Plus you could eat your supper there too–at Anderson Fair, spaghetti was a buck a plate.
Comment by Anders Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 1:23 pm
Thanks, Rich, for helping Blaze Foley sing for me. I’m a new fan. I love when you write about music. If you ever leave political writing, you should head to Rolling Stone. But, please, never leave us. You are sense in an unsensable Springfield.
Comment by FAN of CAP FAX Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 1:35 pm
Im goin down to that river
the one that’s cold as ice
Im goin down to the river
and Lord Im gonna pay the price
oh Lord
Im goin down in it three times
but Lord im only comin up twice.
Hank Williams (NOT Junior)
Comment by Anon Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 1:41 pm
I don’t really have the talent or inclination to write about music full time, but thanks for your kind words.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 1:53 pm
Rich, Thanks for the great writing. He is a perfect example of what we are missing from our radios today.
Comment by Anon Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 2:16 pm
I love country and folk but have never heard of this guy. Thanks for the info Rich.
Comment by L.S. Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 3:02 pm
The best kind of read. Never heard of him, never heard him sing, didn’t know his lyrics, clicked every link, listened to every song, wish I had known of him when he lived, will keep his work and art alive listening to his music and passing this along to my friends.
Comment by walter sobchak Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 3:52 pm
One of the things that I didn’t mention above (as if it wasn’t long enough already), was that Newt Gingrich, of all people, was a huge Foley fan back when Foley was living in Atlanta…
===In Atlanta, he worked his way up to opening sets at Rosa’s Cantina, a well-known touring stop for acoustic and roots acts. One of his first high-profile fans was an aspiring politician named Newt Gingrich who liked hanging around the hippies and even smoked dope according to some witnesses. Gingrich showed up often enough to declare Blaze Foley “my own Bob Dylan.”===
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 4:27 pm
Rich, I have been a prine fan for years and this guy sounds like he could have been one of his writers. JP is one of the greats in the music field!!
Comment by NIEVA Friday, Oct 26, 07 @ 5:39 pm
Rich, do you ever read No Depression magazine? It ran a nice extended profile on Foley (I believe by the writer whose website you linked here) about a year ago.
Comment by Boone Logan Square Saturday, Oct 27, 07 @ 1:18 pm
hey rich.
good piece on blaze, he was a good friend and we had some times . i have some great video with him at the austin outhouse and other places around included my front porch .
he was a great songsmith i got the call the night he was shot and didnt think he would die from it ,but they just took thier sweet time getting to him because he had no money or insurance ,so he was left too long bleeding in the hall and died .
i have been trying to work a deal with his sister to do a dvdof him but the legal crap has kept it slow going .
hank sinatra
Comment by hank Sunday, Oct 28, 07 @ 10:25 am
Hank Sinatra, for those of you who don’t know, was a local legend in Springfield before moving to Austing and becoming an indispensable chronicler of singer-songwriters.
Thanks for dropping by, Hank. Hope to see you soon.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Oct 29, 07 @ 8:00 am
As a middle-aged folky (aren’t we all), I was hearing these covers and wondered who wrote them. Bless you for the positive in the midst of the negative.
Comment by Duke Monday, Oct 29, 07 @ 9:50 pm
Hey Rich, nice article, thanks for linking to the Cold Cold World video. Here’s a blurb from the website selling the new CD of the same name.:Cold, Cold World captures Blaze Foley and his working band - the Beaver Valley Boys - from their first Texas studio recordings dating from 1979 and 1980. Blaze and the band - anchored by the renowned Gurf Morlix - are at the top of their form. Cold, Cold World includes 17 Foley songs that range from several of his well-known classics to six songs that appear on a Foley recording for the first time. The studio sessions were produced by Gurf Morlix and John Hill.
“Blaze and the Beaver Valley Boys were a big part of a healthy Houston club scene in the late 1970’s,” said band mate Gurf Morlix. “We had our share of fun, but mostly it was about the songs. This album represents the music as it existed then, raw and beautiful. Blaze has never been captured like this on CD. These recordings represent a special moment in time.”
here’s a link to the site:http://www.lostartrecords.com/coldcoldworld/index.html
Comment by skumm Friday, Nov 9, 07 @ 8:13 am