Daniel first met Townes Van Zandt at a coffee shop in Athens. The two bonded over their shared love of music. Although he would never achieve commercial success, the Texas troubadour was developing a cult following with his sad, soulful songs.
One day Townes asked Daniel to drive him to Nashville in his van. Daniel was game. There they visited the home of musician Guy Clark and his wife, Susanna. Al Clayton, a notable photographer of the era who’d made his name chronicling the poverty of Appalachia with the book “Still Hungry in America,” captured images of the foursome playing some tunes on the front porch.
From there Townes and Daniel struck out for Texas and Colorado. Occasionally Townes would call Daniel on stage to sing with him or perform “Cascade of Colors.”
In Dallas, they got stuck in a traffic jam. Daniel suggested they pass the time by splitting up and each writing a song they would perform for one another. Daniel wrote “Sweet Lovin’ Music.” Townes liked it and told Daniel that if he ever recorded an album, he should give it the same name. Townes wrote “Pancho and Lefty,” considered to be his biggest hit. Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and Steve Earle would go on to record it.
“I was the first person in the world to hear that song,” Daniel said. “Everybody tells me I was Lefty, and I tell them I have no idea about that.”
