![]() We have a very historic courthouse - it’s the oldest continuously operating courthouse in the entire state, and it was built before the Civil War. So there are some of us who have moved away and done well who have gone back and tried to make things better. Or up there, I should say - it’s north of here. And the median family income per year is $28,000. But there are only 30,000 people in the entire county. It’s a fairly large county, Cass County - I mean, it’s fairly large by east Texas standards. Like I said, it’s smaller now than it was. MG: In the History of the Eagles documentary, I remember you talking about the town’s one traffic light. (Laughs) Ever seen The Last Picture Show?ĭH: It’s a little bit like that. ![]() I’m involved in civic affairs and the restoration efforts, and I own several buildings which are … um, vacant. After my mother passed away I kept her house, and we still go back there occasionally. And I still am very connected to my hometown. Parsons was influenced by those same people. And those people had a big influence on the country-rock movement, which is always credited to Gram Parsons he’s seen as being the seminal figure in that movement. You know, Merle and Buck Owens and some of that gang were recording out in Bakersfield, California. I mean, Merle Haggard, may he rest in peace, has always been one of my musical heroes, and he lived in California - he was part of what was called the Bakersfield sound. MG: Did you still listen to that music once you moved out to California in the ’70s?ĭH: I would still listen to that music in California. So let’s just put it this way: to use a cliché, it was my going-home album. There are a lot of different influences that come to bear on the album, I think. The album definitely leans toward country, but there’s that relatively new category called Americana, and I think it would fit into that box as well. I mean, I don’t like putting things in boxes. So I wanted to do something that I thought was a little more traditional. (Laughs) It’s something that I don’t quite recognize. ![]() I’m a little confused by what is called country music today. And I would go with him sometimes, and we would listen to country music on the radio. My dad had an auto parts shop in a town that was 21 miles away from where we lived, and he would make that commute every day. I would go to work with him sometimes, on weekends or in the summertime when school was out. So I just wanted to pay tribute to my home turf and to the memories of growing up, and listening to country music with my father on the radio in his car. Like a lot of small towns, it’s drying up and dying. The population when I was growing up was about 2,500, maybe 2,600. I grew up in a very small town in northeast Texas. Well, when one gets to be my age, one comes full circle, so to speak. I’d been thinking about doing it for quite some time. Montreal Gazette: What spurred the idea for a somewhat traditional country album? Was it something you had been thinking of doing for years?ĭon Henley: Yes. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
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