You just never know
I love the work of Charlie Russell, so I was delighted to see a wonderful article in the winter 2021 issue of RANGE Magazine by Randy Rieman called “The Cowboy Artist” that showed several of Russell’s letters to friends that he illustrated. Russell wrote hundreds of such letters to cowboys, Indians, actors, artists and patrons. In many cases, he even did colorful drawings on the envelopes that the illustrated letters came in. I’ve seen several of these letters in museums and art auction catalogs, and in some cases they’ve sold for more than Russell’s oils or bronzes.
Can you imagine receiving such a letter? I sincerely hope none were thrown in the trash!
The RANGE article reminded me of something. I’ve always been a BIG fan of country/western music. While my classmates were listening to the Beatles and Rolling Stones, I was enjoying Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, etc. So it meant a lot to me when years ago I got a call from John Dickson, the Texas-based music promoter who stages the best Texas music festival called MusicFest. (Except it’s held in Colorado). It’s probably the biggest music festival in the state despite a capped attendance of 6,000 lucky folks who spend the week in Steamboat Springs skiing and listening to 50 bands on a dozen stages. After three decades, MusicFest has become the largest annual group ski trip in the nation.
I don’t know how John found me, but he asked if I would write the welcome and introduction in the magazine that served as the program to MusicFest. The best part of the deal wasn’t the generous check, or the magazine with my intro in it that John sent me, but a two-disc CD called “Undone” that featured the best musical highlights of that year’s MusicFest. All the songs were written by Texas legend Robert Earl Keen. That’s when I discovered and fell in love with what is now referred to as “Texas music.” Ground zero for the country/western music I like isn’t Nashville ... it’s Austin, Texas. The Undone CD was also the first time I heard my now favorite band, Reckless Kelly. It’s a couple of Idaho-born-and-bred brothers and some gifted friends who moved from Idaho to Texas.
The full article is available in our e-Edition. Click here to subscribe.