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During his lifetime John Townes Van Zandt was beset by a host of demons including alcoholism, heroin addiction, memory loss and bipolar disorder. An inveterate raconteur, he once claimed he'd been dead for ""an hour and a half"" before being resuscitated and consequently his ""brains were scrambled"". Although his parents were wealthy, Townes preferred to adopt an itinerant lifestyle. Inspired by Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and Lightnin' Hopkins, he often lived in dingy motel rooms and played for change in dive bars. Thus it is hardly surprising that his world-weary, dust-blown songs sounded so utterly authentic; as Bob Dylan put it, ""everyone of them words rang true, and glowed like burning coals"". Although none of his own records sold in any substantial quantity, Townes' peers have long capitalised on his superb body of songs. Dylan himself recorded his best known composition, 'Pancho and Lefty', although it was first covered by Emmylou Harris in 1977. A few years later, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson scored a No.1 hit with it on the Billboard Country Music Charts. More recently Robert Plant has covered both 'Nothin'' and 'Harm's Swift Way'. In between, scores of others have all released or performed versions of Townes' songs. It is said that in later years, his annual income from songwriting royalties was in excess of $100,000 - unfortunately most of this seemed to slip straight though his fingers. This live radio broadcast draws material that spans Townes' career. All the songs are original compositions with the exception of a cover of Bob Dylan's 'Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues'. Amongst the oldest songs are 'Fraternity Blues', 'Colorado Girl' and 'Snake Mountain Blues', which all date from the late 1960s. Songs originally recorded for albums in the 1970s include 'Rake', 'To Live Is To Fly', 'Mr. Gold And Mr. Mud', 'Dollar Bill Blues', and 'No Place To Fall'. Townes' 1980's compositions are represented by 'Buckskin Stallion Blues' and 'Snowing On Raton'.