10 Years Ago Today, We Said Goodbye to the King of the Texas Troubadours and One of Johnny Cash’s Favorite Singer-Songwriters Ever

On this day, May 17, 2016, the country and folk music world lost the legend that was Guy Clark. After finding success with early songs like “L.A. Freeway” and “Desperados Waiting For A Train”, Clark became one of the most prolific country songwriters and performers of the latter third of the 20th century. The list of musicians he has worked with is long on its own, but the list of contemporaries who have covered his works years after he wrote them is enormous. Without his work, the folk revival movement in the 1960s, as well as Americana as a whole, would likely not be the same at all.

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Let’s honor Guy Clark by looking back at his rich career as one of the greatest songwriters in country music.

Remembering the Life and Career of Guy Clark

Guy Clark was born on November 6, 1941, in Monahans, Texas. In the 1960s, Clark spent much of his time making folk music in Houston. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was a big part of the narrative-driven songwriting boom in Texas and became closely associated with the troubadour movement of the era. Eventually, he and his wife, Susanna Talley Clark, settled down in Nashville. There, Clark was a key part of the Americana movement, as well as the country music scene of the time.

Throughout most of his career, starting from the 1970s all the way until his death in 2016, Clark was known for being a legendary country singer-songwriter who touched on outlaw country, Texas’ unique spin on country, and folk music. He wrote and recorded songs that would later be covered by countless big-name contemporaries in Nashville. Just a few include Townes Van Zandt, Bobby Bare, Jimmy Buffett, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, and many more.

A Johnny Cash Favorite

Speaking of Johnny Cash, the Man in Black was a pretty huge fan of Clark. In his autobiography, Cash, he said, “I don’t listen to music much at the farm, unless I’m going into songwriting mode and looking for inspiration. Then I’ll put on something by the writers I’ve admired and used for years—Rodney Crowell, John Prine, Guy Clark, and the late Steve Goodman are my Big Four.”

Outside of songwriting exclusively, Clark had humble success with his own recorded works. None of his studio albums cracked the Top 40 on the US country charts or the Hot 100, outside of the No. 12 Top Country Albums hit (and No. 5 Americana/Folk Albums hit), My Favorite Picture Of You. Clark was, however, a Grammy Award winner. He earned the coveted Best Folk Album award for the above-mentioned final studio album of his career.

Guy Clark passed away on May 17, 2016, in Nashville, Tennessee. He fought a brave battle with lymphoma before passing away at 74 years old. And his impact on the world of country, folk, and Americana will never be forgotten.

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