RICHARD DOBSON Singer/Songwriter Tyler, Texas; March 19, 1942 - Originally intent on a career as a prose writer, Richard Dobson worked as a Spanish teacher and Peace Corps volunteer in the 1960s, but in between found time to write two novels, numerous short stories, and publish a newsletter (Poor Richard's Newsletter, later Don Ricardo's Life and Times). He also began writing songs and gradually moved farther in that direction. Dobson worked in the 1970s with other Texas singer/songwriters like Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt in Houston, and later in Nashville. It was there he got his first break when David Allan Coe covered his song "Piece of Wood and Steel." After saving enough money from working on oil rigs and shrimp boats along the Texas Gulf Coast, Dobson put out his debut, In Texas Last December, in 1977. In succeeding years, more of his songs ("Baby Ride Easy," "Old Friends," "The Ballad of Robin Wintersmith") were recorded by established artists, and he released a steady stream of albums full of pithy commentary and acute insight into the human condition. However, he never attained the kind of following other Texas singer/songwriters did and so decided to try his fortunes in Europe. Like a number of other expatriate American artists, Dobson found success. He played to larger and more receptive audiences and was signed to Brambus Records in Switzerland. In 1993, Dobson, whom Nanci Griffith called "the Hemingway of country music," paid tribute to one of his biggest fans, Townes Van Zandt, on Amigos which covers 15 of Van Zandt's most well known songs. His 1994, Mankind, in addition to presenting a pretty stern critique of modern America, contains the best of his songs previously covered by other artists. One Bar Town (1995) and Love Only Love (1996) are Texas style honky tonk, singer/songwriter recordings well worth seeking out. In 1998, Dobson's book The Gulf Coast Boys was published. It's "an irreverent backstage peek at the gonzo lifestyles of the Hemmer Ridge Mountain Boys (Rex Bell, Mickey White, and Van Zandt, of course) who asked for little more than gasoline, guitar strings, and a jug of whiskey to get them to the next show." --David Goodman, author of Modern Twang: An Alternative Country Music Guide and Directory