"Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." — Steve Earle

"I've met Bob Dylan and his bodyguards, and I don't think Steve could get anywhere near his coffee table." — Townes Van Zandt

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So who else likes this guy? I bought an album of his almost by accident about ten years ago, after reading his obituary, and ended up listening to it over and over again. He'd have been 64 today. Here's "Pancho and Lefty", probably his most famous song, covered by loads of people including Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard:
http://download.yousendit.com/B09D46370E1DFA02

And here's his cover of the Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers" (from the soundtrack to The Big Lebowski):
http://www.ninebullets.net/wp-mp3/townes_van_zandt_-_dead_flowers.mp3