Harold F. Eggers, Jr., was Townes Van Zandt’s road manager, business partner and friend from 1976 until Van Zandt’s death in 1997. This collection represents some of the material that Eggers accumulated during those years. Eggers lives in Austin, Texas, where he continues to promote the music and legacy of Townes Van Zandt.
Townes Van Zandt was born on March 7, 1944, in Fort Worth, Texas, to a wealthy family with ties to Texas that extended back as far as the 1840s (Van Zandt County in East Texas is named for his family). He dropped out of college in the 1960s to pursue a career in music and became a well-known singer-songwriter within the next ten years, living most of the time in Nashville but maintaining close ties to his home state, primarily through connections to Austin, Texas and the musicians who live there. His first album debuted in 1968; Wikipedia’s discography lists 32 albums in all, including a number published posthumously. His song “Pancho and Lefty,” sung by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, became a number one hit on the country charts in the 1980s. Van Zandt died in Nashville on January 1, 1997.
This collection consists of music recordings compiled by Harold Eggers and others, a photo album from Van Zandt’s youth, hand written lyrics for “For the Sake of a Song,” and about 800 candid snapshots taken by Eggers of Van Zandt either performing, traveling, or at leisure with friends and family. Also included are articles and promotional materials related to Van Zandt and a DVD of “Townes Van Zandt: Houston 1988: a private concert.”
Unrestricted access. Donor claims copyright to all materials in this collection.
Harold Eggers Townes Van Zandt Collection, The Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin