When you travel this good red road, you ignore providence at your peril. finding Tim Henderson's music was providential in the extreme.
I had for the summer before my stateside stravaig (and for 10 weeks in the states) traveled with Cowboy Soldier Poet Chuck Hawthorne who every night would pay respects to Tim Henderson (his mentor) tell a great story about him and cover one of his songs. However it wasn't till I got to Texas I became aware of his impact there, and truly profound legacy to the music of that great state.
Chuck was invited to perform a Tim song at Threadgills in Austin for the launch of Tim Henderson's "The Legacy Collection" box set by his widow Marian.
It was packed to the rafters an hour before the show every seat was filled by a songwriter or musician I admired it seemed, also radio dee jays and music writers were introduced to me in a continuous flow, the Texas fraternity had turned out en mass to pay homage to the memory of Tim Henderson, I was, it seems by default, the only European representative.
Tish Hinojosa, Butch Hancock, Ken Gaines, Libby Koch, Steve Brooks and Brian Kalinec, Daniel Boling were among the star studded cast that performed that day and everyone in the venue sang every song with so much love and passion. I was moved to every emotion possible in the swirls and eddies of these great songs and these great performers.
Though from West Virginia, Tim was an adopted son of Texas, little known outside those 2 great states. Tim however was loved and revered above the throng particularly in Texas.
It seems to have befallen me to bring Tim Henderson's poetry, pathos, passion posthumously, beyond the plains and prairies to European ears.
My mission starts here and now with you, the listener.
This show (and this subsequent great task) is one of the real privileges of my life so far.
store.cdbaby.com/cd/timhenderson8
I commend this collection to your ears and dedicate it to the memory of the great Tim Henderson. Please let me know if you would like to hear more from Tim (or any of the artists featured here).
rob@medicinemusic.co.uk
Hope to see you on the trail sometime
Fraternally
Rob Ellen