"I want to go home with the Armadillo."
​And you will, too, once you've picked up Gary P. Nunn's new memoir of the life and times of this true Texas original.
As one of the founding fathers of the progressive country music scene in Austin, Texas, Nunn helped change the face of popular music. His anthem "London Homesick Blues" was the theme song of the wildly popular Austin City Limits--the longest-running music series in American television history--for over two decades. His hit songs, such as "The Last Thing I Needed First Thing this Morning" and "What I Like about Texas," have been recorded by artists from Jerry Jeff Walker and Michael Martin Murphey to Rosanne Cash, Willie Nelson, and most recently, Chris Stapleton.
At Home with the Armadillo is a unique and revealing debut work that showcases Nunn's exceptional abilities as a storyteller. His obvious songwriting talents have translated naturally into honest, captivating prose as he recounts the story of his life from a humble childhood in rural Oklahoma to playing with members of the famous Crickets to his move to Texas and into the burgeoning Austin music scene of the early 1970s.
The story of this extraordinarily talented musician will captivate a broad audience. It's a book for lovers of country and rock-and-roll music, students of the history of those genres, people who grew up in Austin or Texas in the sixties and seventies, and those who wish they had! This is a heartfelt narrative that doesn't hold back as Nunn reflects about the good times and the bad of a young musician on his way to a future that wasn't always clear. As much as this is the story of Nunn's life, At Home with the Armadillo is also an homage to Texas, to the rich and star-studded history of Austin music, and to all the musicians and other personalities Nunn met on their respective ways through the music world of the last five decades.
Personal stories of musicians like Murphey, Walker, and Nelson are integrated with tales of the festivals, clubs, and venues from Los Angeles to Nashville where their careers and Nunn's were made. Nunn shares wild adventures in Mexico, his personal encounter with the Viet Nam War, and the glory days of Austin when the "Live Music Capital of the World" was coming into its own.
Whether you're a country music fan of any age, a cosmic cowboy, an aging hippie, or anyone who wants to know how it all happened, this book will take you back to the days. To the days of the Armadillo World Headquarters--where, as Nunn states, "It's been said that our music was the catalyst that brought the s***kickers and the hippies together at the Armadillo."
Nunn notes, "I have been blessed with good health, and I have driven over two million miles alone without an accident--knock on wood! 'Success is survival, ' as Leonard Cohen told me many years ago."
To readers of At Home with the Armadillo: We're lucky to be along for the ride!