Born in Houston, Texas but raised in the nearby community of Klein, Lyle Lovett’s musical journey began in the late seventies. He was attending the Texas A&M University when he began writing songs for the very first time and was studying for a degree in German and journalism. He had already begun performing live at clubs and folk festivals, so when he graduated he played and wrote around Europe for most of the early 80s.
By the time he returned to his home country, Lovett was inspired enough to try his hand at being a professional musician. He started performing around clubs in his native Texas and by 1984 he’d made enough of a name for himself for his song “If I Was The Woman You Wanted” to be covered by Nanci Griffith on her album “Once In A Very Blue Moon”. If that wasn’t enough, Lovett had actually interviewed Griffith for his college paper, and now she was covering his songs.
The same year, fellow songwriter Guy Clark heard a demo tape of Lovett’s and passed it on to Tony Brown of MCA Records. By 1986 Lovett was signed and his self-titled debut album came out the year after, a critically acclaimed effort which saw all five of its singles reach the top 40 of the country charts. However, even though he’d made his name in the country world, he was soon about to grow out of it.
His second album “Pontiac”, was just as critically acclaimed but was a far bigger success on the pop charts than the country charts, reflecting his expanding pool of influences. The album still went Gold in due course but the reason for Lovett’s worldwide fame wasn’t to come until 1993, and it had nothing to do with music. He married Julia Roberts, who was then one of the world’s biggest celebrities.
The marriage would only last two years but the effect of the spotlight wasn’t one that Lovett appreciated. When it was over he retreated from the limelight as much as he could until 1996 when he released his return to country music “The Road To Ensenada”. Since then he’s been keeping to his own pace, releasing records, film soundtracks and acting periodically.
He’s a unique, elder statesman figure in American music, and we could stand to have many more artists as willing to experiment as he is in country, rock, pop and any other genre you care to mention.
I first heard Lyle Lovett on the Deadicated CD; A complication by a number of artists all playing Grateful Dead songs to benefit the rain forest. Here was a rather unknown musician (to me) playing an amazing cover of one of my favorite songs.
It was a few years later when I started looking into him more and actually realizing that he was not just a country music singer.
While his voice was memorable on Friend of the Devil, the real kicker for me was hearing his live albums, then seeing him live for the first time at Edgefield winery in Oregon. He played with His Large Band and it was epic!
I hate to pigeon hole any musician, but especially Lyle. His songs range from Country to Rock, to Blues and Gospel. He always rocks the house with any version of If I Had a Boat. I have lost count of the number of times I have seen him. It's almost a guilty addiction I have. I
Just last August while in Eugene, OR I was having surgery on my ankle, but had plans for the show that evening. I happened to meet Lyle on the street where he autographed my guitar and spoke with me for a few minutes. That evening he spoke to my girlfriend and I from the stage and followed it up by a song we had discussed on the street.
He's a true gentleman and a great artist with an amazing sense of humor. I am no longer at all embarrassed to admit he's my favorite living guitarist. We already have our tickets for the September show in Fairbanks, AK. It's sure to be another great memory.