Six years ago today (Jan. 18, 2020), one of folk music’s brightest lights unexpectedly went out on a stage in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Beloved singer-songwriter David Olney was performing at the annual 30A Songwriters Festival when he paused, said, “I’m sorry,” and closed his eyes. He was 71 years old.
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“He never dropped his guitar or fell off his stool,” wrote singer-songwriter Scott Miller, who was performing with Olney, in a Facebook post. “It was as easy and gentle as he was.”
David Olney Was a “Gruff” but “Sensitive” Songwriter
Although born March 23, 1948, in Providence, Rhode Island, David Olney spent nearly all his adult life in the Southern United States. During a brief stint at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he joined Bland Simpson’s band, Simpson. Later, he moved first to Atlanta before settling in Nashville in 1973.
Proximity to the music he loved helped Olney feel mostly at home in the South. Still, he never quite overcame his outsider status—which turned out to be a good thing, artistically speaking. “That outsider point of view turned out to be something of an asset for me as a writer, I think,” Olney said in a 2014 interview.
He added, “I searched for the odd point of view. I developed a sense of how others felt. I think that added a certain theatricality to my songs.”
Olney formed a band, The X-Rays, in the early ’80s. They recorded two albums, performed at Austin City Limits, and opened for Elvis Costello before splitting up in 1985.
On his own, Olney would go on to record more than 20 albums. Artists like Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and Steve Earle would cover his work.
[RELATED: David Olney: Literate, Rabble-Rousing Troubadour]
His Favorite Songwriter’s Favorite Songwriter
While David Olney never earned the name recognition as the artists named above, he didn’t have to work hard for their respect. His own musical hero, the late Townes Van Zandt, expressed the highest of praise when he penned the liner notes for Olney’s 1991 album Roses.
“Anytime anyone asks me who my favorite music writers are, I say Mozart, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bob Dylan and Dave Olney,” Van Zandt wrote. “Dave Olney is one of the best songwriters I’ve ever heard — and that’s true. I mean that from the heart.”
Featured image by by Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Image
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