The earliest known surviving set of Jerry Jeff Walker’s handwritten lyrics for “Mr. Bojangles” exist because a plucky young guitar repairman in New Jersey asked Walker to write them down so he could learn the song. Walker wasn’t yet a star in 1968. But he did have an amazing folk song on the radio in the …
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Before his death in 2009, legendary Texas author Edwin “Bud” Shrake completed a final novel, Hollywood Mad Dogs. This rollicking tale is based on his real-life adventures as a Hollywood screenwriter in the 1970s, where he penned films starring Dennis Hopper, Steve McQueen, and vampire bats. Shrake met McQueen in 1979, when the actor hired …
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The recording was unearthed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in January 2018, more than a half century after it was made. The audio captured on the portable reel-to-reel tape machine – a German-made UHER 4000 Report-L popular in the early 1960s – is still clear and crisp. “I’m gonna do the whole thing,” announces Jerry Jeff …
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In 1950 the Wimberley, Texas artist James Buchanan “Buck” Winn was commissioned by the Pearl Brewery in San Antonio to paint The History of Ranching, a massive mural to adorn the walls of the Corral, the brewery’s oval-shaped hospitality room. At 280 feet, the mural was considered the longest in the world, depicting the story …
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(AUSTIN, TEXAS – March 12, 2020; source: Juice Consulting) – On the evening of March 11, 2020, author, filmmaker and producer Tamara Saviano, whose papers reside in The Wittliff Collections, was awarded the 2020 Margaret Moser Women in Music Award at the 38th Annual Austin Music Awards held at ACL Live. This distinguished award is …
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The forgotten 60-second Marine Corps. recruiting spot fades in with the familiar symphonic chorus of “MacArthur Park” – “Someone left the cake out in the rain . . .” But the voice is not that of actor Richard Harris, who sang the ubiquitous hit in 1968. It’s Waylon Jennings singing his Grammy-winning, countrified version of …
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Once upon a time, you had to be listening live to catch Bookmarked, the literary talk show hosted by Priscilla Leder on KZSM in San Marcos. Now Bookmarked is available as a podcast, and among its archived programs, you’ll find delightful, in-depth interviews with several of The Wittliff’s acclaimed writers. Leder, a Distinguished Professor Emerita …
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Written by Wittliff student worker, Hannah Alvarado. Representing the life of an artist using only their photographs is a seemingly impossible task. Especially a life as singularly impactful as photographer, screenplay writer, author and The Wittliff Collection’s late founder, Bill Wittliff. David Coleman, The Wittliff’s director since 2011, is one of three contributors who took on …
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By Wittliff student worker, Jessica Henriquez. Jane Sumner, an award-winning film journalist for The Dallas Morning News, has interviewed directors, producers, writers, book authors, and the former Governor of Texas, Ann Richards. Through the years, she’s kept her roughly-recorded microcassettes and has now donated them along with her archive of article drafts, awards, and interview …
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The recent acquisition of the archives of Austin record collector/photographer/indie music newspaper publisher Doug Hanners, means the deep dives are beginning at The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University into one of the most important and fascinating aspects of the collection – the personal papers, ephemera and rare photos amassed by notorious Houston record producers …
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