Townes Van Zandt wrote about fading relationships as well as any songwriter. The 1971 track "Tower Song" stands as one of his best weepers.

Townes Van Zandt lived the life of both an 18th-century byronic hero and a 19th-century cowboy. He was tragically brilliant, broken, and lost too soon. However, everything tragic about Van Zandt ...

Townes Van Zandt plays his guitar in this Sept. 13, 1995 file photo. This year’s event is March 9-10 in the Southside Preservation Hall and Rose Chapel, 1519 Lipscomb St.

Townes Van Zandt plays his guitar in this Sept. 13, 1995 file photo. Mark Humphrey AP This year’s event is March 9-10 in the Southside Preservation Hall and Rose Chapel, 1519 Lipscomb St.

Van Zandt came from a reputable family. Townes Hall at the University of Texas is named after one side and Van Zandt County, outside of Dallas, after the other.

Townes Van Zandt's name conjures tales of drug and alcohol abuse, gambling, rambling and mental illness. That mythic life sometimes overshadows his music, which was often as perfect as his life ...

The Texas Canon: How Townes Van Zandt's 'Pancho and Lefty' tells a tragic outlaw tale Van Zandt blessed the music world with an enigmatic ballad of love, betrayal, regret, and a fork in the road.

It’s a cover of “ Sad Cinderella,” which first appeared on Townes Van Zandt’s 1968 debut album For The Sake Of The Song and which Van Zandt re-recorded later in his career.

Townes Van Zandt plays his guitar in this Sept. 13, 1995 file photo. This year’s event is March 9-10 in the Southside Preservation Hall and Rose Chapel, 1519 Lipscomb St.