Tribute to Charlie Robison, featuring Sheldon Zoldan

Charlie Robison got his musical start in Austin in the '90s and later became one of the leaders of Texas country music.

"New Year's Day," from Robison's 2004 album "Good Times," is the featured song in this episode. You can watch him perform it here. Under the video, the venue wishes a fond farewell to the artist: "To Charlie Robison, thank you for all the wonderful music. We, @ The Texas Music Cafe®, wish you an incredible ever after. Heaven is lucky to have you, a Texas Legend, in its lineup. I'm sure we will meet again."

The picture in the chapters is a U.S. Air Force photo taken by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson when Robison and his band were playing for a packed house during a South by Southwest® concert in Austin, Texas. You can find the photo on wikipedia.org. Also, check out an article about Robison looking forward to performing for the troops in Iraq and Kuwait in 2007 as part of an Armed Forces Entertainment tour. He's quoted as saying, "I have been so lucky to have so many military fans and I feel like they are my buddies. I can't go the whole war without going over and seeing them." 

This is one of 44 tributes to significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. Sheldon Zoldan, the writer and editor who wrote and recorded them, also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

In this episode's chapters, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes.

Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to my show, available on YouTube and in various podcast directories including Apple, Spotify and Audible.

Transcript

Kate:
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Hello, and welcome to Everyday Creation. This is

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your host, Kate Jones, with one of 44

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tributes

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to significant figures in the music industry

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who passed away in 2023.

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My guest Sheldon Zoldan,

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a longtime writer and newspaper editor,

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wrote these short biographies

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and recorded them.

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Each one is an intriguing

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glimpse into the life and impact of someone

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who contributed

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to the soundtracks of our lives. Here's what

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Sheldon has to say in this tribute.

Sheldon:
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Charlie Robison was such an ornery, stubborn Texan,

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it's hard to believe death took him.

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Robison wasn't well known unless you were from

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Texas.

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He was one of the leaders of Texas

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country music at the beginning of the 21st

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century,

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following in the footsteps of Willie Nelson and

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others.

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Robison died September 10th in a San Antonio

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hospital

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from cardiac arrest and other complications.

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He was 59.

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Robison fell in love with Texas music when

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he was a child and his parents would

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take him to dance halls.

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He got his musical start in Austin in

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the 1990s

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after he quit school after a football injury.

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He said he never went to a single

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class, but he drank plenty of beer.

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He talked his brother,

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also a musician, into quitting

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too. He recorded his first album

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"Bandera,"

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named after his hometown,

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in 1995.

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It got him a record deal, but it

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turned sour when he wouldn't move to Nashville.

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He fought against recording songs radio stations would

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play.

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He wouldn't promote songs he did record.

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He gained his audience with live performances.

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Robison married Emily Erwin, a member of the

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Dixie Chicks — now the Chicks.

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The marriage lasted nine years.

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Robison announced in 2018

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he was retiring because he couldn't sing after

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a botched throat operation.

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He did make a comeback four years later.

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Our Song of the Day,

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"New Year's Day,"

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landed on his

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2004 album "Good Times."

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The album charted at 52 on Billboard's Country

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Album list.

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It's a song of reflection.

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It captures the bittersweet emotions that come with

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the start of a new year as we

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bid farewell to the old, according to 

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oldtimemusic.com.

Kate:
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This is Kate again. Please go to the

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description for more information and to hear the

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song that Sheldon referenced.

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If you enjoyed this tribute, please check out

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the rest of them. Although some of the

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names are not as familiar as others, the

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biographies

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are equally intriguing.

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Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation.

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Please share this episode with anyone who might

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enjoy it.