Tom Russell

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tom Russell (2008)

Tom Russell (born March 5, 1953 in Los Angeles ) is an American country and folk singer and songwriter who is also active as a writer from time to time.

Beginnings

Russell grew up in Los Angeles. On the radio he heard songs from the Bakersfield country scene as well as the folk movement that shaped him. He was also interested in the Beat poets and Charles Bukowski , with whom he later conducted a correspondence that lasted more than 20 years, which he also incorporated into his artistic work.

After studying criminology in college , he worked as a teacher in Nigeria for two years . On his return he played for a few months in Vancouver , Canada before joining the Austin , Texas country scene in 1973 . Here he got by with odd jobs. Together with Patricia Hardin, he released two moderately successful albums. He then retired from the music business for a few years. Among other things, he worked during this time as a taxi driver in New York, where he also met his colleague and future guitarist Andrew Hardin . One passenger, Robert Hunter, who wrote most of the lyrics for the group Grateful Dead , persuaded him one day to try a new beginning.

Career

Since the 1980s he has toured Europe with Andrew Hardin and the accordion virtuoso Fats Kaplin . They lived in Oslo (Norway) for a while and produced several albums there. Russell wrote numerous songs during these years that were recorded by well-known country musicians. The Canadian Ian Tyson in particular used his material again and again. Some of the best-known Russell compositions include Navajo Rug (written with Ian Tyson) and Gallo De Cielo . He lived for some time on Tyson's ranch in Calgary and was co-producer of two albums by his former wife Sylvia Tyson , with whom he was also briefly in a relationship.

At the end of the eighties he put together his own band, the Tom Russell Band . Several concert tours through North America and Europe followed. During this time, a successful collaboration began with Katy Moffatt , whom he accompanied on several albums as a co-producer. Several duets have been recorded with Nanci Griffith . In 2001 the album Borderland was released , which thematically dealt with its new home El Paso in the US-American / Mexican border area. Russell developed an increasing interest in the history and folklore of the American West.

Tom Russell has distanced himself from the mainstream Nashville character throughout his musical career . His mostly self-written songs deal with topics such as the history of the USA, immigration, the life of ordinary workers and Indians. Mexican influences on his music are unmistakable. Russell's songs were not in the charts, with the exception of "Outbound Plane", which he wrote together with Nanci Griffith, Suzy Bogguss carried this song in its very successful version at number 9 on the Billboard Country Charts. But he kept receiving awards, especially from Canada, for his qualities as a songwriter. Today he is widely regarded as the best "storytelling songwriter" in the USA and "perhaps the best roots songwriter after Bob Dylan ". The Folk Music Alliance chose its "Who's Gonna Built Your Wall?" for the best song of 2008. In it, Tom Russell denounces the devastating policies of the Bush administration, which isolates the country beyond any necessity. This applies to the border between Texas and Mexico as well as to Canadian musicians who can only tour the USA under difficult conditions.

Albums

  • 1976 - Ring Of Bone (with Patricia Hardin)
  • 1978 - Wax Museum (with Patricia Hardin)
  • 1984 - Heart On A Sleeve
  • 1986 - Road To Bayamon
  • 1989 - Poor Man's Dream
  • 1991 - Hurricane Season
  • 1992 - Cowboy Real
  • 1993 - Hillbilly Voodoo (with Barrence Whitfield)
  • 1993 - Box Of Visions
  • 1994 - Cowboy Mambo (with Barrence Whitfield)
  • 1995 - The Rose Of San Joaquin
  • 1997 - The Long Way Around
  • 1997 - Song Of The West
  • 1999 - The Man From God Knows Where
  • 2000 - "All Around These Northern Towns"
  • 2001 - Borderland
  • 2002 - Museum of Memories 1972-2002
  • 2003 - Modern Art
  • 2004 - Indians Cowboys Horses Dogs
  • 2005 - Hotwalker
  • 2005 - Raw Vision (The Tom Russell Band 1984-1994)
  • 2006 - Love And Fear
  • 2007 - The Wounded Heart Of America (Compilation)
  • 2008 - Lost Angels of Lyon - Live 1989 Lyon, France
  • 2008 - Veterans Day: The Tom Russell Anthology (Compilation)
  • 2009 - One To The Heart, One To The Head (with Gretchen Peters)
  • 2009 - Blood & Candle Smoke
  • 2010 - Cowboy'd All To Hell (1992 & 2010)
  • 2011 - Mesabi
  • 2013 - Aztec Jazz (with the Norwegian Wind Ensemble)
  • 2013 - Museum of Memories VOL. 2: 1973-2013
  • 2014 - Midway to Bayamon: The lost Tapes 1985-1987
  • 2014 - The Western Years 2-CD Set
  • 2014 - Tonight We Ride - The Tom Russell Cowboy Anthology
  • 2015 - The Rose of Roscrae double CD
  • 2017 - Play one more - The songs of Ian & Sylvia
  • 2017 - Folk Hotel
  • 2019 - October in the Railroad Earth

DVD

  • Hearts On The Line (documentary about a train journey across Canada with special guests Hot Club Of Cowtown , Kristi Rose and Fats Kaplin and live performances by Tom Russel and Andrew Hardin in Vancouver and the Philadelphia Folk Festival etc.) Canyon DVD, 2005

Books

  • Tough Company , Black Shark Press 2005

Web links