Ride Me Down Easy: The Ballad of Billy Joe Shaver

Jonny Whiteside

No one ever gave Billy Joe Shaver anything. The veteran country singer-songwriter’s entire life has been one of struggle and loss – he married and divorced the same woman five times, and their only child, the brilliant guitarist Eddy Shaver, died of a heroin overdose in 2000.

His career has been equally tumultuous: early on, the phenomenally talented lyricist was reduced, by sheer frustration, to using threats and intimidation. He would jump out of Music Row doorways to confront song publishers, demanding that they use his material, and he famously barged into a Waylon Jennings session and told the singer that he would “kick his ass in front of everybody” if Jennings didn’t make good on a promise to cut Shavers songs. After the Outlaw icon included ten of them on his 1973 Honky Tonk Heroes album, Shaver gained significant renown, but his wildly rowdy high life branded him a perpetual high risk.

Born into poverty and a broken home, Shaver’s entire life has been pure country. He was practically raised in the Corsicana, Texas beer joint where his Mama slung suds for a living; as a barefoot boy “he walked ten miles of train track to hear Hank Williams sing.” After he finally got a foothold in Nashville, he landed two successive record deals, but throughout the 1970s each company went out of business almost immediately after releasing one of his albums.

A 1990s collaboration with his son Eddy brought Shaver an overdue creative and commercial renewal until Eddy’s New Year’s Eve overdose. More recently Shaver faced serious legal consequences following a non-lethal barroom shooting in Lorena, Texas, an incident where another patron flashed a blade and Shaver took him out to the parking lot where, legend has it, he asked “where do you want it?” before opening fire. In keeping with the nature of the epic Shaver saga, Willie Nelson took the stand as a character witness and he beat the rap.

“My sense of humor is what keeps me going.” Shaver said recently. “I’ve been ducking and dodging and trying to get through it all, but I’ve been lucky.”

With his newly released Long in the Tooth, Shaver’s first studio album of new material in almost seven years, it is clear that the old Outlaw’s luck is holding steady. “I like it, I think it’s a great record.” He said. “We worked real hard on it. It’s been so long because I couldn’t get with the right producer and my Live at Billy Bob’s sold real good, that took a space of time also, and accounts for the delay. This one is going to make some noise, I believe.”

His songwriting is as peerless and unconventional as ever. “I knew I had to come up with something that was all new.” he said. “Some of these are things I’d had and never finished, others I’ve just come up with in the last few months. I’ve constantly got something I’m working on, like I always say songwriting is the cheapest psychiatrist there is so I’ve been taking advantage of that. I’ve been cooking, they challenge me. It’s hard, at times, but music is, pretty much, what keeps me happy.”

Shaver, who turns 75 on August 16, has been through more than any mere mortal has the right to endure, let alone survive. Nonetheless, he maintains a relentless heavy schedule of club dates. “Those numbers – 75 – are pretty hard earned, and my body has not kept up.” He said. “I just jump in the van and go. I’m working all the time, we’re always bubblin’ under. But, life is hard. I only believe half of what I see and none of what I hear. We’ve all got speed bumps ahead of us and if you live long enough, you’re gonna run into a whole bunch of crap. But, that’s the fun of it – buckin’ the odds.”