American Singer and Songwriter. He was a country music pioneer who wrote some of the genre's greatest songs, such as 'Honky Tonk Heroes,' 'Georgia on a Fast Train,' 'Old Five and Dimers Like Me' and 'Live Forever.' He wrote ten out of the 11 songs on Waylon Jennings' 1973 outlaw country breakthrough album 'Honky Tonk Heroes.' Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley all recorded his songs. Shaver was raised by his mother after his father left before he was even born. He was raised primarily by his grandmother until he was 12, when he would regularly accompany his mother at the nightclub she worked at, getting an early taste of the honky tonk life. He worked a number of odd jobs, including in the rodeo, and also enlisted in the Navy. While working in a sawmill, he lost two of his fingers in an accident. It was then that he taught himself guitar, and decided to become a songwriter. First planning to hitchhike to Los Angeles, but unable to find a ride west, he instead took a trip east, which led him to Memphis, and eventually Nashville, where he signed on as a songwriter, making $50 a week. He would go on to record over two dozen albums of his own, including 'Old Five and Dimers Like Me' (1973), 'Gypsy Boy' (1977), 'Billy Joe Shaver' (1982), 'Salt of the Earth' (1987), 'Highway of Life' (1996), 'The Earth Rolls On' (2001), 'The Real Deal' (2005) and 'Long in the Tooth' (2014). In 2007, he was charged with shooting a man in the face at a bar near his home in Waco. The trial drew friends including Nelson and the actor Robert Duvall. Shaver was found not guilty.
American Singer and Songwriter. He was a country music pioneer who wrote some of the genre's greatest songs, such as 'Honky Tonk Heroes,' 'Georgia on a Fast Train,' 'Old Five and Dimers Like Me' and 'Live Forever.' He wrote ten out of the 11 songs on Waylon Jennings' 1973 outlaw country breakthrough album 'Honky Tonk Heroes.' Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley all recorded his songs. Shaver was raised by his mother after his father left before he was even born. He was raised primarily by his grandmother until he was 12, when he would regularly accompany his mother at the nightclub she worked at, getting an early taste of the honky tonk life. He worked a number of odd jobs, including in the rodeo, and also enlisted in the Navy. While working in a sawmill, he lost two of his fingers in an accident. It was then that he taught himself guitar, and decided to become a songwriter. First planning to hitchhike to Los Angeles, but unable to find a ride west, he instead took a trip east, which led him to Memphis, and eventually Nashville, where he signed on as a songwriter, making $50 a week. He would go on to record over two dozen albums of his own, including 'Old Five and Dimers Like Me' (1973), 'Gypsy Boy' (1977), 'Billy Joe Shaver' (1982), 'Salt of the Earth' (1987), 'Highway of Life' (1996), 'The Earth Rolls On' (2001), 'The Real Deal' (2005) and 'Long in the Tooth' (2014). In 2007, he was charged with shooting a man in the face at a bar near his home in Waco. The trial drew friends including Nelson and the actor Robert Duvall. Shaver was found not guilty.
Bio by: Louis du Mort
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