Texas singer-songwriter Hayes Carll declared, “Ray would be at the top of the list if I were gonna read about somebody’s life.” In The Messenger: The Songwriting Legacy of Ray Wylie Hubbard, author, journalist, and music producer Brian T. Atkinson demonstrates why Carll and so many others hold Ray Wylie Hubbard in such high regard. Atkinson takes readers into and beyond the seedy bar in Red River, New Mexico, where the incident occurred that inspired Hubbard’s most famous song, “R...

The life and career of Jerry Jeff Walker, the singer-songwriter who wrote Mr. Bojangles, a timeless waltz, a love song from a French Quarter drunk tank. Jerry Jeff soon transformed Texas music with gonzo energy and creative fusion, igniting the Austin progressive country revolution. In his own words.