If you're like us, you probably thought that the country and western scene was full of ridiculous song titles, misplaced patriotism and institutional inbreeding; but now – thanks to country singer Billy Joe Shaver – we can add 'carpark cheek-shooting' too.
Billy Joe Shaver – the man behind bewildering hits like Ain't No God In Mexico, America You're My Woman and Yester Tomorrow Was Today – surrendered himself to the police yesterday after a saloon gunfight at the weekend left a man with a big hole where his cheek should be. It's unclear what Billy Joe Shaver's fate will be after copping to the shooting, and Billy Joe Shaver's lawyers were too busy taking part in a banjo duel with a retarded boy in dungarees to comment on the matter. We assume.
It's becoming increasingly clear to us that the country and western music scene is just about the most dangerous in the world. If its stars aren't going to rehab then they're choking waitresses or divorcing their child-molesting husbands while trying not to appear gay in front of everyone. Plus we hear the cowboy-themed German entry for Eurovision 2006 totally enjoys strangling pensioners and stealing their jewellery. OK, that last one is a lie, but you get the picture. And now Billy Joe Shaver has joined the fray by apparently shooting a man in the cheek during a fight in a pub carpark, as Forbes reports:
Shaver, 67, was charged with an assault and a weapons charge. His attorney, Joseph A. Turner, has said Shaver shot the man in self-defense after he left the bar and followed Shaver into the parking lot Saturday night. Turner said that Shaver did not know the man and that the stranger was drunk, aggressive and had a knife.
We should probably backtrack a little to explain who Billy Joe Shaver is, for readers whose primary source of communication isn't hollering into a CB radio. Billy Joe Shaver is the veteran country singer who plays guitar with the hand he once mangled in a piece of lumber mill machinery. A former member of the navy and rodeo rider, Billy Joe Shaver almost died onstage during a performance on Independence Day 2001 after suffering a heart attack. We're really not making any of this up, you know.
And to add to all this, Billy Joe Shaver has been arrested and freed on $50,000 bail after apparently shooting a man in the cheek outside of – and we're not making this up, either – Papa Joe's Texas Saloon in Waco. There's no word on a court date yet for Billy Joe Shaver who, although potentially not as good a shot as Phil Spector, can console himself with the fact that he just might be the rootingest, tootingest, pedal-to-the-metal face-assaulting cowboy gunslinger in the whole of Waco.
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Marc Harkness says
I’m a longtime Shaver fan and just wanted to pipe in for the man. I don’t know the facts of the case, but I can say that as opposed to a lot of the posturing hat acts and rhinestone cowboys that the commercial “country” scene is full of these days, Billy Joe is the real deal, and one of the most honest, down-to-earth, and gracious musicians out there. He’s not glitzy or pretty to look at, just a hard-working troubador making a living on the road from town to town.
I’ve had the privilege to see him in concert several times, and every time I’ve been moved and shaken to the core by his plain-spoken songs of love, loss, hell-raisin’ and redemption. (This is spoken as a cynical, agnostic indie-music fan). I wish him the best through this mess, and I urge everyone to see him in concert, I doubt you’ll come away unrewarded.
Adam Gade says
“Ain’t No God In Mexico”? So that’s why there are so many illegal immigrants flooding through my border. At least it’s a good reason.
Chad says
so Shaver defends himself from a drunk comin’ at him with a knife, and you make him out to be the bad guy?
Then there must be a whole lot thats unclear to you guys. Try turning on MTV, and seeing about all the punk-ass thug rappers going down in a volley of gun fire over a vial of crack, and someone wearing a blue tshirt in a red tshirt only residential slum.
Brian Murphy says
I generally don’t like to jump into a fight, but feel I must comment on Mr. Heritage’s opinions regarding Billy Joe Shaver and country music in general.
First, I would like to say that I have no knowledge of the cirumstances of the charges faced by Billy Joe Shaver and so cannot comment on this. The comments I make only address the statements made by Mr. Heritage in his article.
Mr. Heritage’s states: “it is becoming increasingly clear to us that the country and western music scene is just about the most dangerous in the world. If its stars aren’t going to rehab then they’re choking waitresses or divorcing their child-molesting husbands while trying not to appear gay in front of everyone”. This is a prime illustration of his ignorance, which is only surpassed only by his stuipidity. I believe that he is alone in his opinions, but he attempts to legitimize his beliefs by his use of the first person plural, as in: “it is becoming increasingly clear to US”.
Mr. Heritage, do you really believe that music or art created by persons who go to rehab or divorce “their child-molesting husbands” should be considered invalid? If you think that great art is only produced by those who have no disfunction in their lives, then there is no great art by your definition. Do you believe that Billy Joe Shaver’s music is inferior because he is (in your words) a “veteran country singer who plays guitar with the hand he once mangled in a piece of lumber mill machinery. A former member of the navy and rodeo rider, Billy Joe Shaver almost died onstage during a performance on Independence Day 2001 after suffering a heart attack. We’re really not making any of this up, you know”.
Why would you think that this is unbelievable, and why would you think that this history would be in any way pejorative? Should a singer be considered inferior because of a heart attack or industrial accident, or by military service? Most believe that harships in life provide the catalyst for the creation of great art. Why should the loss of several fingers detract in any way from Billy Joe Shaver’s music? Van Gogh’s loss of an ear did not detract from his art. If you would prefer that country singers should be non-military, non-divorced, and non-disabled in any way, you would be listening to some pretty boring music. Would this make you feel better about yourself?
I have been to several Billy Joe Shaver concerts, and believe that he is one of the greatest American song-writers (Willie Nelson has said that he is the ‘greatest unknoiwn songwriter in America’). You won’t hear him on commercial country radio because he does not conform to the image required by the record companies for optimum sales.
By the way, what exactly is “institutional inbreeding?”
Brian says
Stuart,
Sounds like a country music fan must have stolen your girlfriend somewhere back in your pitiful life. No sane person is this bitter towards artsts/fans of a music genre. I feel sorry for you.
Nathan says
Mr. Heritage,
Wow, you really lumped Billy Joe Shaver in with “pop country” music? You insulted a man for serving in the military? You picked on someone that has a disability and still manages to make a career out of using their injured hand to make music that some people appreciate?
I guess it’s hard to write an insulting article about a genuine, spiritual leader like Billy Joe Shaver. I sure hope there is a lot more people like Billy Joe Shaver in the world and a lot less people like you.
I’m guessing that if Mr. Coker had pulled a knife on you, you would be laid up in the hospital bit**in about your stab wounds and insulting the doctors and nurses for trying to stitch you up.
C, J. BERKMAN, TEXAS POET says
Having known Bill Shaver personally for over thirty years, I can guess what was going through his mind. Here he was, in a parking lot with a drunk with a knife, and self-preservation was the first thing on his mind. Bill is a mighty man, but his heart and neck both have been giving him trouble for years…So he did what any self-reapecting Texas Cowboy would do–he tok care of the problem with whatever was at hand, which in this case, happened to be a small derringer he carried for self protection against yahoos such as the one he shot. There’s not a more gentle, religious, gracious man in Texas than Bill Shaver, who I respected enough to have him spend time in my home with my family……God Bless You, ole hoss, and there may not be a god in Mexico, but we both know that one lives in Texas, and I think he’ll look out after his children, expecially in this case.
LIke the saying goes, “You mess with the bull, you might get the horns……”God Bless Billy Shaver……
Jimmy says
You obivously know nothing about the character of Billy Joe Shaver, that goes without even mentioning his tremendous talent and contribution to not only authentic country music but American music. When Johnny Cash says Billy Joe Shaver is his favorite songwriter, one might want to pay attention.
Needless to say, you’ve made an ass of yourself.
Sincerely,
Okies for Billy Joe
(a Billy Joe fan that also loves indie-rock, reggae, jazz, folk…..etc.)
chris says
Im glad that there are others that can speek with a larger vocabulary than I about your comments about Billy Joe. However, I wish to speek for those that have not spoken………
FUCK YOU stuart, and your info too.
James King says
I wish I could add more to these comments, but it looks like the people know the truth. I’ve met Mr. Shaver a hand full of times, he was nothing but warm, friendly, and gracious. To belittle his music, or genre because you don’t understand it, or like it, only shows Mr. Heritage’s bigotry.