Blaze Foley

Blaze Foley, born Michael David Fuller in Malvern, Arkansas, was an outlaw country and folk singer-songwriter who became a central figure of the Austin, Texas songwriting scene in the 1970s and 1980s. He adopted his stage name in homage to the Grand Ole Opry star Red Foley, and he cultivated a deliberately shambolic image, at one point wearing a suit made of duct tape as a mocking response to the rhinestone glamour of mainstream country acts. He was a close friend and drinking companion of Townes Van Zandt, and the two shared a bond built as much on their self-destructive lifestyles as on their songwriting.

Foley never achieved commercial success in his lifetime, but his songs found a wide audience through other artists. Merle Haggard had a hit with «If I Could Only Fly», and John Prine recorded «Clay Pigeons» on his Grammy-winning album Fair and Square. His songwriting is marked by plainspoken lyrics, aching melancholy, and unguarded emotional honesty, qualities that made his work durable even as his own recordings remained obscure and hard to find.

Foley was shot and killed in Austin in 1989 while trying to defend a friend. After his death, Van Zandt wrote «Blaze's Blues» in tribute, and Lucinda Williams wrote «Drunken Angel» about him. His story and songs were later brought to wider attention by the 2018 biopic Blaze, directed by Ethan Hawke.