Billy Joe Shaver: -How He Heard Waylon Jennings Passed Away

Norm Macdonald introduced me to Billy Joe Shaver and I am thankful for both for their contributions to my life

Otis, I lived in Austin from 2004 to 2009. My parents came from Ireland to visit me and I took them to see the capital building. Billy Joe played on the steps outside. I was wearing a "Waylon Rules" tee shirt. He talked with me and my family for at least 20 minutes. Told me some Waylon stories. A great guy. I love his writing and music.

I was at Gruene Hall that night, took my mom to see Billie Joe, they’re about the same age, and he usually prays on stage but that night he seemed REALLY into it. It wasn’t such a big crowd that night for whatever reason, but after he played he greeted everyone that hung around after and told my mom a long story about his wife giving him that belt buckle. No one would have guessed what he was going through that night and when we all read it in the paper later we thought they had the wrong show. That’s who Billie Joe Shaver was, an old faithful work horse that gave absolutely all until there wasn’t anything more to give.

After everything Billy Joe went through it’s hard to believe he made it to 81 years old. He could have been a professor at the school of hard knocks. I was hoping to see him one more time but that didn’t happen. He was one of a kind.

Between Otis’ videos and the “Tales from the Tour Bus” videos, I’ve recently been getting a lot of outlaw country backstories. Thanks!

The last time I saw Billy Joe was 2008 or '09 at a honky tonk called "Bootleggers" just south of Tyler,Tx. At one point Billy asked what we'd like next? I hollered out" Ain't no God in Mexico!" Billy said " Oooohh! That's a good'rn!" and they set off into it. My life was complete. I also feel ya on Gruene Hall. I live about 5 miles away from it and that rickety old shack is made out of magic.

There was a nurse at the rehab I just got out of that went to church with Billy Joe Shaver. One of the wildest things I've ever heard.

I met Billy Joe 3 times. He "Blessed" me with bottled water at the Cactus Cafe in Austin. One of the greatest song writers in any genre of music. Just ordered the book. Thanks Otis.

Dear Otis: You are a fine man, you have a warm heart, and I love the way you tell the stories, thank you so much. Best wishes, Steve

I actually shed a tear when Billy Joe passed. I never met him, or him me. Strange. I think his passing hit me hard because of not only his music and persona, but so many of these cultural icons are passing. Leaving voids not to be replaced in a changing world. A mindset, way of life passing. More concerned about living than worried about dying. I believe it was called America.

I loved the story where he and Waylon got stiffed by the bar owner after a gig and they snuck back after it closed, Waylon told him he'd left something in the bar and he had to get it, so Waylon jumps back in the truck they take off and Kaboom the bar blew up, that was a good one

There would have been no outlaw movement in country music without Billy Joe!

Billy Joe gave me a copy of that book in 2009. Signed it for me, and sat a bar table and talked to me and my best friend for an hour after a show. We are a bunch of nobodies. I think he liked that about us.

Thank God for the Screen Actors Guild, and thank God for Billy Joe Shaver. "Please Lord, don't let me die in a motel in Pflugerville" has to be one of the all-time great lines. Great stories, Otis.

Oh god don’t let me die in a hotel room in flugerville, that’s a classic B.J.S. One their. Otis, Thanks for this segment today. I sure do miss old Waylon & Billy. End of an era for sure. I started my morning today with my rare copy of the complete Waylon live from 1974. Hard to fathom both these outlaws have moved on to the big stage. Thanks again for the share Otis, it made my day!

I was fortunate enough to have crossed paths with Mr. Shaver at the Belle Star Saloon one Saturday afternoon when I stopped in for a beer. This was in 1982 in Dallas, TX he was sitting on the edge of the stage strumming his guitar, completely alone. We had some conversation mostly small talk but he told me he wrote " I'm just an old chunk of coal" and I knew that tune so the memory never left me. He was playing at Belle Stare that evening. Super humble man, I enjoyed our short time talking and I am STILL enjoying my talk with him. R.I.P.

Love it. Great stuff. I was an exclusive Rock guy (Zeppelin, Hendrix, ABB, Skynyrd etc etc) until the day I was digging through my dads extensive album collection and I saw this long haired guy with a beard on the cover of this album. He looked rough around the edges to say the least. He looked like the type of guy I could hang out with. Then I made the connection !! This is the narrator or "balladeer" from my childhood favorite "Dukes of Hazzard". The album was called "Ramblin' Man". A year later I owned every Waylon CD money could buy. Later I learned about the "Honky Tonk Heroes" album and I learned about Billy Joe Shaver. So many great songs and stories. RIP Waylon RIP Billy Joe RIP Dad Fan for life. AWESOME STUFF Otis. Thank you

Thanks for sharing the stories and the book info! Billy Joe was my second cousin and yeah, if you were around him enough you can definitely still hear his voice writing those words.

Cool man. The fist time I saw Billy Joe was in LA at The Satellite on his 75th birthday, it was pretty incredible. I got to catch him a year later at The Troubadour and that show was the best. He invited a few friends up on stage that night. Dwight Yoakam sang Little Sister and he had Norm MacDonald come up and tell a joke. Billy Joe also tried to get Robert Duvall and Kris Kristofferson up there too, but they both stayed in the balcony. It was a great night, Billy Joe Shaver was magnetic and sounded amazing. It was a real treat knowing Kristofferson and I were at the same show. The Troubadour can be a magical place

The friend that Billy confided in about the poetry and the knife was actually Bobby Bare