Last week we watched another chapter in life come to a close for songwriting legend Billy Joe Shaver. With no shortage of experiences that have made him the man he is today, at 70 still writing, recording, and performing live.

Just reading his bio and a quick wikipedia search will fill you in on everything from his early days in Texas through the 40's, 50's, and 60's prior to releasing his first LP in 1973, to working with Waylon Jennings, Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, to Grammy nominations, and so on... No doubt a living legend, most notably as one of the prominent voices during the Outlaw Country days in the early-to-mid 1970's.

In addition to that part of his life, Billy Joe Shaver has amassed experiences that very few could think of. Ups and downs in every way imaginable through several decades of just living his way of living, then writing about it to help the rest of us understand.

Most recently we have his trial for the 2007 shooting of Billy Coker outside of Papa's Joe's near Waco, Texas. What was most fascinating to me this past week was watching the entire trial unfold via twitter through Texas court reporter @stevenkreytak. Literally a play by play as the days unfolded within the courtroom. Leading us to the eventual news late Friday afternoon that Billy Joe Shaver was found to be not guilty of aggravated assault. The weight was lifted and he was now a free man. The full rundown with highlights can be seen here.

Well... that's country music.


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