Jimmy LaFave (July 12, 1955 – May 21, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. After moving to Stillwater, Oklahoma, LaFave became a supporter of Woody Guthrie. He later became an Advisory Board member and regular performer at the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival.
In 1996 LaFave received the Kerrville Folk Festival songwriter of the year award and appeared on the TV show Austin City Limits. He recorded 15 albums and his 2007 release, Cimarron Manifesto, reached the No. 1 mark on the Americana Music Association album chart. In 2012, LaFave released the studio album Depending on the Distance.Cuccaro, Richard. Jimmy LaFave: Bringing Red Dirt Music to the World. Acoustic Live, Vol. 9, Issue 9, February 2008.
LaFave was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2017 alongside Carl Belew, musician-actor Rodney Lay, the Red Dirt Rangers, David Teegarden, Sr. and singer-harmonica player Junior Markham. Tramel, Jimmie. Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame class announced. The Tulsa World, April 26, 2017.
In 1992 La Fave signed with Colorado-based Bohemia Beat Records and recorded his debut album, Austin Skyline, which included four Bob Dylan songs and consisted of live performances and recordings from four Austin, Texas live music venues including La Zona Rosa and Chicago House. That 4th album was followed by Highway Trance in 1994 and Buffalo Return to the Plains in 1995. Between 1997 and 2001, LaFave released three more albums on the label including the 1999 double CD Trail, which was a 15-year retrospective of live performances and studio outtakes. In December 1995, LaFave won the Songwriter of the Year Award at the Kerrville Folk Festival and in March 1996 received the same honor at the Austin Music Awards sponsored by The Austin Chronicle.Stambler, Irwin and Stambler, Lyndon. Folk and Blues: The Encyclopedia. St. Martin's Press, 2001. . LaFave gained nationwide exposure in 1996 through his appearance on the PBS music show Austin City Limits when he was paired with Lisa Loeb for an evening of "acoustic ballads and electrified folk-rock numbers".Public Broadcasting Service. Lisa Loeb and Jimmy LaFave on Austin City Limits Retrieved June 21, 2007. In 1996, LaFave made an appearance at a tribute to Woody Guthrie held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the invitation of Guthrie's daughter.PopMatters. Jimmy LaFave: Cimarron Manifesto Retrieved June 21, 2007.Robicheau, Paul. Ellis Paul's got Woody Guthrie under his skin. Boston Globe, September 20, 1996.
In 1998, LaFave began attending the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festivals held in Guthrie's hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma and in 2007 became a member of the Woody Guthrie Coalition that organizes the festival.WoodyGuthrie.com. Woody Guthrie Coalition Board of Directors. Retrieved December 19, 2007.Skaff, Hillary R. Jimmy LaFave: Pure Americana. Austin Music and Entertainment, Issue 12, p. 14-16. November/December 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2007. LaFave says Woody Guthrie is his musical heroGranberry, Michael. Cozy concert halls draw big names to small-town Texas. Dallas Morning News, October 14, 2007. Retrieved September 1, 2010. and pays homage to him in the song "Woody Guthrie" on the Texoma album.Wood, Arthur. Jimmy LaFave. Texas Folk at Finest. FolkWax E-Zine. November 7, 2001. Retrieved September 1, 2010. (Free with registration.) Album reviewers described it as "reminiscent of the Dust Bowl heritage of Woody Guthrie, the early rock of Chuck Berry, the quiet folk reflections of Bob Dylan, and the rock anthems of Bruce Springsteen"Schultz, David. Review of Texoma. Folk and Music Exchange, 2001. Retrieved March 13, 2007. and "honest, thoughtful and sincere" music. LaFave's "red dirt music" sound has been described as a mix of rock, folk, rockabilly, and country, grounded in the landscape of Texas and Oklahoma and can be heard on this album.Dexter, Kerry. Jimmy LaFave: Roots Along the Red Dirt Road. Dirty Linen, April/May 2002, p. 32-6.
LaFave left Bohemia Beat for Red House Records and released his 2005 album Blue Nightfall which one reviewer called his "best work yet" and "a great introduction to an important artist".Frater, Bill. Freight Train Boogie Review of Blue Nightfall. Retrieved May 9, 2007. LaFave's second release for Red House Records was the 2007 album Cimarron ManifestoRed House Records. Jimmy LaFave: Cimarron Manifesto. . Retrieved April 4, 2007. which went to No. 1 on the Americana Music Association chart.Americana Radio. Americana Music Association chart for the week of June 11, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2007. In his review of LaFave's Cimarron Manifesto (2007) for the FolkWax E-Zine, Arthur Wood calls LaFave "one of the finest Bob Dylan interpreters ever.Wood, Arthur. Red Dirt Tribute and More . FolkWax E-Zine, May 16, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2007. (Free with registration.) In the same period he collaborated with Zucchero Fornaciari, who covered LaFave's "Never Is A Moment" on his album La Sesión Cubana. Two years later LaFave was one of the guests of the Americana Tour with the Italian bluesman.
LaFave's 14th release, Depending on the Distance, was released on September 18, 2012. Backing musicians include Austin's Eliza Gilkyson and John Inmon.Taradell, Mario. Musically Speaking: Jimmy LaFave turns in a thoughtful studio album on Dallas’ Music Road Records. Dallas Morning News, September 17, 2012. The 13-track release includes three Bob Dylan covers, including a version of "Red River Shore" that runs more than nine minutes. In her review for The Oklahoman, Brandy McDonnell said: "Jimmy LaFave’s first studio album in five years, lives up to the intriguing promise of its title, finding the Oklahoma-Texas troubadour in a contemplative mood whether he is crooning his new original songs, covering an ’80s pop smash or reinterpreting anthems penned by Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen."McDonnell, Brandy. CD review: Jimmy LaFave “Depending on the Distance”. The Oklahoman, September 21, 2012.
In 2015, LaFave released The Night Tribe. A review of the release in No Depression stated that LaFave "delivers 11 exquisitely crafted self-penned songs and re-interprets two Americana masterpieces; barely making them recognizable as they become Jimmy LaFave songs."Harrisonaphotos. Jimmy Lafave – The Night Tribe . No Depression. April 9, 2015.
In April 2014, Music Road records released Looking into You: A Tribute to Jackson Browne. The 2-disc tribute album was produced by LaFave and was two years in the making, after LaFave garnered Browne's approval during the 2012 Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration. The album features Bruce Springsteen, Lyle Lovett, Bonnie Raitt, Ben Harper, Keb Mo', Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, and others.Boydston, Joshua. Red Dirt icon Jimmy LaFave has become synonymous with the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival . The Oklahoma Gazette, July 9, 2014.
At the time of the public announcement, The Austin Statesman announced that a concert to honor LaFave would be held at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas on May 18, 2017. LaFave helped in the selection of friends and musicians who would perform that night. LaFave also selected charities that would benefit from a crowdfunding effort set up in his honor.Blackstock, Peter. Jimmy LaFave, beloved Austin singer-songwriter, facing terminal cancer. The Austin Statesman, April 20, 2017. A crowdfunding effort "Celebrating Jimmy LaFave" was set up via GoFundMe and received about $55,000 in donations.
LaFave died of cancer at his home in Austin, Texas, at the age of 61. Texas Singer-Songwriter Jimmy LaFave, 61, Dies of Cancer. The New York Times, May 22, 2017 His death came just three days after making an appearance at the Paramount Theater tribute show in Austin. According to The Austin Statesman: "A sold-out audience heard artists ranging from Austin artists including Eliza Gilkyson, Slaid Cleaves and Ruthie Foster, plus some from out-of-state including Nashville’s Gretchen Peters, Boston’s Ellis Paul and Woody Guthrie’s granddaughter Sarah Lee Guthrie, primarily playing songs that LaFave wrote or were part of his repertoire."Blackstock, Peter. Jimmy LaFave, renowned singer-songwriter, dies of cancer at 61. The Austin Statesman, May 22, 2017.
Within 24 hours, LaFave's death was reported in numerous newspapers throughout Texas and Oklahoma, in The New York Times and as far away as England and The Netherlands, where he often performed.Saunders, Emmeline. LaFave dead at 61 after performing last concert for devastated fans. The Mirror U.K, May 22, 2017. LaFave is survived by his son Jackson LaFave of Austin, siblings Garry LaFave of Cashion, OK, Robert LaFave of Edmond, OK, Connie LaFave Casner of Sulphur, OK, and longtime friend and companion Ashley Warren of Austin, TX.
2017 | Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame | Inductee |
Austin Musician Of The Year | Inductee | |
Restless Spirit Award | Inaugural Recipient | |
1997 | Austin Music Award | Singer-Songwriter of the Year |
1996 | Austin Music Award | Singer-Songwriter of the Year |
Kerrville Folk Festival | Songwriter of the Year | |
!Year !Title ! !Record Label | |||
1979 | Down Under | Snowbound | |
1981 | Broken Line | Snowbound | |
1988 | Highway Angels...Full Moon Rain | Independent | |
1992 | Austin Skyline | Bohemia Beat | |
1994 | Highway Trance | Bohemia Beat | |
1994 | The Open Road (Highway Trance) | Munich Records EP | |
1995 | Buffalo Return to the Plains | Bohemia Beat | |
1995 | Burden To Bear | Munich Records EP | |
1997 | Road Novel | Bohemia Beat | |
1999 | Trail | Bohemia Beat | |
2001 | Texoma | Bohemia Beat | |
2005 | Blue Nightfall | Red House Records | |
2007 | Cimarron Manifesto | Red House Records | |
2010 | Favorites 1992–2001 | Music Road Records | |
2012 | Depending on the Distance | Music Road Records | |
2014 | Trail 2 | Music Road Records | |
2014 | Trail 3 | Music Road Records | |
2015 | The Night Tribe | Music Road Records | |
2015 | Trail 4 | Music Road Records | |
2016 | Trail 5 | Music Road Records | |
2018 | Peace Town | Music Road Records | |
2020 | Highway Angels...Full Moon Rain (Reissue) | Night Tribe Music |
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