Billy Joe Shaver interview

Billy Joe Shaver might just be the greatest country music songwriter you've never heard of.

The native Texan started his songwriting career in Nashville, Tenn., in 1968, writing for Bobby Bare. Waylon Jennings used 10 Shaver songs for his 1973 "Honky Tonk Heroes" album. Musicians from Elvis to Bob Dylan (who Shaver counts as a personal friend) have covered his tunes.

His new gospel-infused album, "Everybody's Brother" was produced by John Carter Cash, son of Johnny Cash. The Man in Black himself appears on the album, as do John Anderson, Kris Kristofferson, Marty Stuart, Bill Miller and Tanya Tucker.

Shaver called in for an interview with SE Live ahead of his Oct. 27 performance at "The Loudest Show on Dirt" at Flickerwood Arena.

Matt Sanders: When you made "Everybody's Brother," were you setting out to create a gospel album?

Billy Joe Shaver: It just kind of happened that way. Actually, at first we started out to do a gospel record because John Carter Cash is a very spiritual guy. I've been knowing him since he was born. And there was a song John Cash told me to write a long time ago ... back in the '70s, and I didn't write it.

I felt some kind of kindred thing ... and I went ahead and recorded one [song], and when Kris Kristofferson heard it he wanted on it ...

It was a little hard to write all gospel ... We decided that we would go in there and lean as hard as we could in that direction, and if something else popped up just go ahead and do it anyway. And it worked out that way, and thank God it did, because it's something that people where I hang out ... at honky-tonks where I play, they're not offended by it, and they don't really know that it's creeping into their souls (laughing).

MS: Was Johnny Cash's vocal done just before his death?

BJS: No, it was done back in the '70s. We were doing a demo over at Cowboy Clement's place, Cowboy Arms recording studio and spa ... and John came waltzing in, and he was a big fan, a big fan of Eddy's really, my son ... We were kicking. We had a great band, which is why I guess we weren't accepted in Nashville very good. Now they're doing stuff like that, there ain't nothing to it.

He come on in and sang with me on that song ... John Carter had the masters on it, and he tuned it up a little bit ... and man, I think it's dynamite, myself. I just love it. A lot of it because my son's on there, and Johnny Cash is on there: He's gone, my son is gone.

MS: I heard you and your son used to play heavy metal fused with country.

BJS: We did. They called us heavy metal honky-tonk. But it was, all it was, was just what they're doing now. I guess we was ahead, we might have been behind, I don't know. Whatever it was, doesn't make any difference, the battle cry toward us was 'That ain't country.'

MS: I hear a lot of bands are dealing with that nowadays.

BJS: You have to. It's art, to me. Expression is something that shouldn't be choked.

MS: You wrote all these great songs for big names. How does that make you feel when you didn't get that fame?

BJS: You know what ... that's my award. When someone else records my song, it lights me up. It feels so good, especially another songwriter -- another songwriter would think my song's good enough he'd go ahead and do it and say 'That's pretty doggone good.'