RIP Justin Townes Earle

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Uggh..dead at 38. There's no good way to die so young but I really hope his addictions didn't return.

 

He was so talented and such a unique sound. No parent should have to bury their child. Sad, sad.

 

Just a real gut punch. I saw him play in his fathers band, the Dukes and he then caught my attention with his Replacements cover of Can't Hardly Wait. He really stylized it in his own voice and I became a fan of his originals.


Tough past year for Steve. His longtime bass player going back to Copperhead Road, Kelley Looney, passed away in November.
 

middle name Townes was in honor of Townes Van Zandt, a singer-songwriter who wrote a number of classic songs, including "Pancho and Lefty."
 

Ope3 said:
I saw him play in his fathers band, the Dukes and he then caught my attention with his Replacements cover of Can't Hardly Wait. He really stylized it in his own voice and I became a fan of his originals.
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Live version:

 


No disrespect, but I had not heard of him until I read this topic. Just saw the link to "Can't Hardly Wait". Honestly brought a tear to my eye. Great voice and wish I would have known about him before. I'll definitely research and listen to more. Thanks for posting this.
 

BTChamp said:
No disrespect, but I had not heard of him until I read this topic. Just saw the link to "Can't Hardly Wait". Honestly brought a tear to my eye. Great voice and wish I would have known about him before. I'll definitely research and listen to more. Thanks for posting this.
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If you have access to Sirius/XM the Steve Earle Show/Hardcore Troubadour this week is an hour long tribute to Justin. Only time you heard Steve's voice was to say "Justin Townes Earle, 1982 - 2020", otherwise the music spoke for itself. Pretty touching. They are usually available for at least 2 weeks.

One thing is for certain, as a vocalist the kid could sing circles round his old man.
 

Steve Earle mentioned on his latest radio show that the next album he is working on will be a collection of covering Justin's songs. Hopes to have it out by January.

The show itself was an interesting collection of new music artists have released during quarantine.
 

Ope3 said:
If you have access to Sirius/XM the Steve Earle Show/Hardcore Troubadour this week is an hour long tribute to Justin. Only time you heard Steve's voice was to say "Justin Townes Earle, 1982 - 2020", otherwise the music spoke for itself. Pretty touching. They are usually available for at least 2 weeks.

One thing is for certain, as a vocalist the kid could sing circles round his old man.
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I was able to listen to this. I've never bought a recording by JTE, but I will now. I knew I liked his music, but hearing that much of it has made me a fan.
 



From Steve Earle's tribute album J.T.

 

I have listened to the tribute album twice now. Love it.
 

Bump on the 1 year marker. Live version of Harlem River Blues with the assistance of Jason Isbell on lead guitar.

 




I saw Steve Earle play this with the Dukes back in 2021 but seeing him do it solo (in Berwyn, IL a few weeks ago) after an introduction on the circumstances of his son's death make it even more powerful. One of the most poignant songs I have ever seen.

Here is basically the exact same version from a few months earlier.

Harlem River Blues

 

BleedGopher said:
He was so talented and such a unique sound. No parent should have to bury their child. Sad, sad.
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At the show I saw him at a few weeks ago, Steve specifically addressed that it was extremely difficult thing to do and continue to cope with.

He did point out he is not unique, that lots of parents have to deal with it for whatever reason, addiction, suicide, accidents, violence, illness... What has kept him going is that he still has several people in his life that love him and need his support.

He HAS to keep going, there is no other choice.
 
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Ope3 said:
Bump on the 1 year marker. Live version of Harlem River Blues with the assistance of Jason Isbell on lead guitar.

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For some reason it took me a dozen listens, but I have come to realize this new Jason Isbell Weathervanes track is about his relationship with Justin.

Live version, from Kimmel: When We Were Close


Haunting. Should have picked up on it earlier. What connected me to it though was the Rex's Blues reference (Townes Van Zandt track), young daughter photo image, and the bathroom tile description. That's exactly how Steve depicted finding JT. Powerful.
 
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Y
Ope3 said:
For some reason it took me a dozen listens, but I have come to realize this new Jason Isbell Weathervanes track is about his relationship with Justin.

Live version, from Newport: When We Were Close


Haunting. Should have picked up on it earlier. What connected me to it though was the Rex's Blues reference (Townes Van Zandt track), young daughter photo image, and the bathroom tile description. That's exactly how Steve depicted finding JT. Powerful.
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Yep.
 

Steve's tribute from his kitchen.

 

Ope3 said:
Just a real gut punch. I saw him play in his fathers band, the Dukes and he then caught my attention with his Replacements cover of Can't Hardly Wait. He really stylized it in his own voice and I became a fan of his originals.

Click to expand...
I picked up a recent release of a collection JTE rarities/B-sides. There's a lot of really good stuff on it.

Just as he did with the Replacements cover he took on Springsteen's Glory Days and stylized it in his own voice.

I think it's amazing.

 

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