A Legend Riding into Town

This week Ramblin' Jack Elliott will be playing in Fort Worth, which got me to thinking about the time Martina and I got to meet him and hear a number of his stories at the now-defunct Live Oak a few years ago. Ramblin' Jack is a living, breathing connection to American musical history, and it was incredible to hear him talk about traveling with Woody Guthrie, about his brief encounter with Lead Belly, and about Bob Dylan's early days on the folk scene. Ramblin' Jack is a national treasure, and I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to talk with this very approachable legend that evening in Fort Worth. It felt as if the Smithsonian had somehow turned into a person, and that person was standing there talking to a handful of strangers as if he had known them all of his life.

Here is "Hard Travelin'" played by Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Jerry Jeff Walker.