Sunday evening’s sixth annual Texas Heritage Songwriter’s Hall of Fame show at the Moody Theater was part history lesson, part jam session.
This year’s honorees included Cindy Walker, the first woman inducted, Delbert McClinton, Bruce Channel, Gary Nicholson, and Lee Roy Parnell. Billy Minick, owner of Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, was given the Darrel K. Royal Patron Award for his lifelong support of songwriters. The first 90 minutes, an induction ceremony hosted by cowboy poet and down home raconteur Red Steagall, went by quickly, the only music coming when Bonnie Bishop tore into Walker’s “You Don’t Know Me” backed by songwriter/former NFL star Mike Reid on piano.
The highly polished video interviews with each inductee offered historical tidbits, while giving a personal glimpse into each songwriter’s life. The big news, at least to me, was when McClinton admitted he really didn’t teach John Lennon how to play harmonica, but only tendered the Beatle some lessons. Also informative for many was the exposure given to Channel’s life beyond 1962 hit “Hey! Baby.”
After a break, the instruments appeared and a guitar pull broke out with full backing band, including horns. Channel sang some of his country hits (“Party Time,” “As Long As I’m Rockin’ With You”), and Nicholson showed his remarkable range between soft rocker “That’s the Thing About Love,” his first number one hit for Don Williams in 1984, and the rave up “One More Last Chance,” which he co-wrote with Vince Gill. Delbert played the blues as only he can (“Why Me?”) and added a touch of Tex-Mex with “When Rita Leaves.”
Parnell seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself with a couple of lengthy slide guitar excursions, especially on the ZZ Top boogie of “South by Southwest.” As expected when Channel started into “Hey! Baby,” the audience, generally reserved up to that point, jumped up to celebrate. Another awards show that was typically a little too long, but the music and personality of those being honored made it all worthwhile.
This article appears in March 4 • 2011.