From professional musician to professional defender of musicians
Some of Bobby Earl Smith ’s first Austin memories are chasing fireflies, riding ponies on a carousel over at Lamar and Barton Springs, and getting his hide tanned for playing on the fire escape of the World War II military housing his family lived in as his father paused the pursuit of his law degree to enlist in the Air Force.
His trips to the UT law library were often coupled with regular visits to the legendary Split Rail Inn with his less studious cohorts. “They didn’t even pour concrete, just asphalt, and didn’t seal it,” Bobby Earl said of the Rail. “So when you would walk in there, you would smell spilled beer, cigarettes, and squashed french fries. And onion rings. I mean it smelled like – like you knew where you were,” which just happened to be one of the somewhat seedy birthplaces of Texas outlaw country.
Doug Sahm introduced them to producer Jerry Wexler at Atlantic. And they could’ve, should’ve, would’ve been on their way, except Bobby Earl says Nashville hadn’t yet figured out what to do with Austin’s new brand of eclectic – even lawless – country. But here, crowds were loving it.
Austin Elders Bobby Earl Smith
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