Lonesome Onry and Mean

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Townes Van Zandt Sparks Memories of Stax Records and Jack White

Lonesome Onry and Mean received the following from California record producer/Boronda Records president Charlie McGovern after emailing him John Nova Lomax's blog on Townes van Zandt's old Houston haunts.

"This is a picture of the original Stax site," McGovern says. "That's my buddy Omar in the picture. I was helping him move to Detroit. It was winter so we drove to Nashville and then went straight up."

"When we got to the house in Detroit, one of the guys from the Gun Club was there," he continues. "On the table was a 45 record, and I noticed it was of a Terry Gilkyson song. I asked who the band was. They told me it was some guy who was coming over to look at some tube amps. I took another drink of my Labatt's.

"I met the guy when he showed up and told him that it was cool that they were covering my friend Tony's dad's song. It was Jack White from White Stripes. Of course, he was a millionaire within a couple years.

"I should have taken the 45 and given it to Tony, it's probably worth a few bucks now. I think they have rebuilt Stax since."
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William Michael Smith