Blaze Foley

With the likes of Roky Erickson, Willie Nelson, Daniel Johnston, Townes Van Zandt, etc., I doubt that there is a city with more per capita "oddballs" strewn out across its musical highway than Austin, Texas. And, yet, one of this town's biggest oddballs - Blaze Foley - is also, oddly enough, its most obscure one.

Perpetually homeless, sometimes sleeping under pool tables in bars, Foley was shot and killed in Austin in 1989 while allegedly trying to defend his friend Concho January from Concho's own son.

His songs have been covered by Merle Haggard and John Prine while Lucinda Williams and Townes Van Zandt have each written songs about him.

Earlier this month, Fat Possum Records released Blaze Foley: The Dawg Years and it is an excellent compilation of Foley's unique folk blues.