“Dyin' ain't much of a livin', boy.”
- Josey Wales
I used to hear this guy on the radio driving to work in the mornings when I lived in Cleveland, OH back in the late 90s. Baxter Black was a cowboy poet, a storyteller, an author and a former large animal veterinarian. His syndicated radio spots had been aired all around the country for years, but he was new to me. For two and a half minutes he would hold forth on cowboys, horses, cattle, dogs and ranch life, humorous stories of mishaps, misadventures and odd-ball characters. I wasn't raised on a ranch but I did grow up on a working farm, so I related to many of his tales of rural life.
Shortly after we moved back to Memphis, Black gave a performance in town that Kendra and I went to. He was a wiry fellow, about the size of Robert Duvall, and wore a white cowboy hat to go with his Yosemite Sam mustache. He had a bit of a nasal twang like he was partially holding his nose when he talked and his cadence was pure trail ride. He was no poseur.
After he'd regaled the crowd with his anecdotes and poetry he opened things up for some Q and A. A woman stood and asked how she could go about finding stories so she could become a storyteller. Black was gracious and did not say, “Lady, if you have to ask a questions like that, storytelling is probably not going to be your gift.” What he did say was, “My advice is, go out and buy yourself a young calf and bring it home. Your stories will begin immediately”
Baxter Black passed away in 2022. He left a legacy of humor and insights on how to appreciate life. Don't we always need more of those.
Here's a little sample of his work. Below that is a clip of Todd Snider talking about some good advice he once got on how to be a better songwriter.