“Billy Joe Shaver is 74 years old (closing in on 75), and he’s convinced that his forthcoming studio album, Long In The Tooth—his first in six years—is going to be a breakthrough for him. That’s why he put a new recording of “Music City, USA,” which was originally recorded by Bobby Bare in the seventies, on the album. The song, about a songwriter who leaves Texas to “capture” Nashville, “just seemed to fit,” the outlaw musician says. Listen to Shaver’s “Music City, USA” below, and read John Spong’s profile of the songwriter from the August issue of Texas Monthly here.“
