Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Jimmie Dale Gilmore grew up in Texas. His father was a guitarist in a country band. He got his musical start in a group called The Flatlanders. They issued (and reissued) an album that almost no one heard. But Gilmore and his fellow Flatlanders, Joe Ely and Butch Hancock, went on to become three of Texas’ favorite singer-songwriters, each with his own cult-like following.
If you have heard of Gilmore, it is more likely you have seen him as Smokey in “The Big Lebowski” than as a musician. It was the only movie where he was an actor. He appears on the soundtrack of three movies (“Monster’s Ball”, “A Prophet”, and “Leaves of Grass”.)
I saw Gilmore live in Lexington, KY circa 1990. There weren’t more than 100 people in the audience. He was very personable, relaxed and unassuming. I became a big fan.
Like a lot of singer/songwriters from Texas, Gilmore is hard to pigeonhole, some of his output could be considered country, some folk, and some rock. He writes catchy tunes with some very interesting lyrics.
My favorite Gilmore tune is Dallas:
It starts out like a traditional song:
Did you ever see Dallas from a DC-9 at night?
Dallas is a jewel,
Yeah, Dallas is a beautiful sight;
Dallas is a jungle,
But Dallas gives a beautiful light.
Did you ever see Dallas from a DC-9 at night?
Then the tone shifts:
Now Dallas is a woman who will walk on you when you’re down,
But when you are up, she’s the kind you want to take around.
Now Dallas ain’t a woman to help you get your feet on the ground,
Then it gets dark:
Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes,
A steel concrete soul with a warm-hearted love in disguise;
A rich man who tends to believe his own lies.
I say, Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes.
Another Flatlander jewel:
First stanza:
Standing in the station I got no destination
I’m waving my heart goodbye
I’m walkin in the crowd and I’m talkin out loud
I’m telling myself don’t cry
And Lord I’d rather not
Forget what I forgot
But I guess Im gonna have to try
Second stanza begins:
Standing in the station I got no reservation
Third stanza:
Standing in the station its a sad situation
Final stanza:
I wonder will tomorrow come to hide the sorrow. Will the sun forsake the sky?
And Lord I’d rather not forget what I forgot but I guess Im gonna have to try
Standing in the station I got no destination I’m waving my heart goodbye
Gilmore left the music business for several years, only to return in the late eighties. In 1991, with his third album he released “After Awhile”, full of gorgeous performances and brilliant songs.
Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown, Treat Me Like a Saturday Night, and Blue Moon Waltz are my favorites, but the whole album is topnotch.
His next album “Spinning Around the Sun” in 1993 was nicely arranged and is quite listenable, but only four of the songs were written by Gilmore.
In 1996, Gilmore released “Braver Newer World”. It sounds much different than anything else he has recorded, a combination of country and mystical/psychedelic sounds. The title tune is absolutely beautiful.
Come Fly Away is nearly as good.
The experimental “Braver” and the traditional “Awhile” are bookends to a wonderful career.