Jack Ingram and the Roots of the Texas Country Scene
Date
2019-01
Authors
Kelly, Rich
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Center for Texas Music History
Abstract
In May of 2016 Guy Clark, a songwriting giant in
both his native Texas and his adopted Nashville,
passed away. A week later, a bus of Clark’s
Tennessee friends delivered their mentor’s cremated
remains to fellow artist Terry Allen’s Santa Fe home
for a wake for the legend. The intimate picking party
featured a who’s who of alternative country
luminaries including Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris,
Vince Gill, Joe Ely, Rodney Crowell, Lyle Lovett,
and Robert Earl Keen. Among the impressive
gathering of singer-songwriters, only two were under
sixty years old: Allen’s son Bukka, an accomplished
accordionist, and Jack Ingram.1 The 45-year-old
Ingram had come a long way from his musical
beginnings in Dallas’s Deep Ellum more than twentyfive
years earlier. Along with the chance to honor
one of his heroes and inspirations, the invitation
signaled Ingram’s ascension into the pantheon of
Texas’s elite singer-songwriters. Along the way Ingram
pushed against the prevailing musical winds, played
a key role in reviving fan interest in original Texas
country music, and served as the key inspiration for
the early artists of the emerging Texas Country scene.
Description
Keywords
Ingram, Jack, Country music, Texas country
Citation
Kelly, R. (2019). Jack Ingram and the roots of the Texas country scene. <i>Journal of Texas Music History, 19</i>(1), pp. 32-47.