In Luck with the Red Headed Stranger

The Wittliff joined Willie Nelson and hundreds of his fans for a screening of a newly restored copy of the 1986 film “Red Headed Stranger” at his Luck ranch outside of Austin. The ranch buildings were constructed for the film, and many of the old-west style buldings are still standing today. The Wittliff helped add …

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Reflections on Bill Wittliff and “The Collections”

I came to The Wittliff in October 2011, and most of my days since that time have begun with a call from Bill Wittliff. After he and Sally received honorary doctorates from Texas State In 2014, I’d always greet him with “Doctor, good morning,” and he’d reply in kind. Bill loved to check in and …

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The unvarnished outlaw country collection of Sam Kindrick

It’s been nearly 50 years since the birth of the outlaw country music scene in Texas. At the beginning of the 1970s, it was known as progressive country, redneck rock and cosmic cowboy music. Its earliest proponents were Michael Martin Murphey, B.W. Stevenson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Doug Sahm, Freda & the Firedogs with singer Marcia Ball …

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Willie Nelson OBJECTified

(by Katie Salzmann) We never know who might request to use material from our archives, and earlier this summer the folks at the television show “OBJECTified” reached out to us for images of Willie Nelson to complement their hour-long interview with him. We provided 33 photos of Willie throughout his career, and we are curious …

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Introducing The Wittliff’s Texas Music Collection

  SAN MARCOS, TX — The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University are proud to announce the creation of The Texas Music Collection, which joins the Southwestern Writers and Southwestern & Mexican Photography Collections as part of The Wittliff’s expanding mission to collect, preserve and share the cultural legacy of the region. The Wittliff has …

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