NASHVILLE — Grammy-winning country singer-songwriter Guy Clark, who wrote hits like “L.A. Freeway” and “Desperados Waiting for a Train,” has died. He was 74.
Clark died Tuesday at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, according to his manager, Keith Case. He’d been in poor health, although Case didn’t give an official cause of death.
A native of Monahans, Texas, Clark befriended fellow songwriter Townes Van Zandt and Mickey Newbury. Together with his painter-songwriter wife, Susanna, Clark’s home in Nashville became a gathering place for songwriters like Rodney Crowell and Steve Earle. He wrote songs for Johnny Cash, Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Jeff Walker, Bobby Bare, Vince Gill and John Conlee.
When he moved to Nashville in 1971, his home became a musical haven for songwriters, singers and artists, and his house was full of demo tapes of songs and Susanna’s paintings and artwork. He was close friends with many of Nashville’s talented musicians, including Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Shawn Camp and Sarah Jarosz.
His songs were very detailed, literary and full of imagery, such as “The Randall Knife,” about the knife his father carried with him through World War II. A tribute album to Clark, “This One’s for Him,” which featured recordings by Rosanne Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and John Prine, won album of the year at the Americana Music Association’s Honors and Awards in 2012.
He recorded several albums, although he never achieved the same success as a performer, but he was beloved in the folk and Americana musical community. His final album, “My Favorite Picture of You,” won a Grammy in 2014 for best folk album. The title song was inspired by his wife, who died in 2012 and who is featured on the album’s cover. The picture shows a frustrated Susanna, her arms crossed and a glare on her face.
“Townes (Van Zandt) and I were in that house that she is in front of and we were drunk, drunk, just obnoxiously drunk,” Clark said during a 2013 interview with the AP. “And she had just had enough.”
He is survived by his son Travis and daughter-in-law Krista McMurtry Clark; grandchildren Dylan and Ellie Clark; sisters Caroline Clark Dugan and Jan Clark. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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