Texas Songwriter Dies in Rifle Accident

Under the recurring title "Today in Gun Nutty USA" I'm accustomed to posting horrid accidents that take the lives of Americans, often quite young.  I could do it every day, maybe every hour.  But today's is especially tragic because the victim is a well-known Texas songwriter, Steven Fromholz, age 68.   A hunting rifle in a case accidentally discharged when he dropped it  at a ranch in badly-named Eldorado.

Fromholz was far from a household word but revered by songwriters and performers in the state, and recorded the album, more than 40 years that many consider the birth of the Texas "outlaw" music movement, later to star Willie and Waylon.  He was named poet laureate for the state in 2007.   When Lyle Lovett recorded his acclaimed double-CD tribute to Texas songwriters, Step Into This House, he featured great tunes by Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark but one of the best was Fromholz's ten-minute "Texas Trilogy."  Lyle also recorded his "Bears."  Here's the original "Texas Trilogy" but Lyle's version tops it.  -- G.M.