Jimmy LaFave (July 12, 1955 – May 21, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. After moving to Stillwater, Oklahoma, LaFave became a supporter of Woody Guthrie. He later became an Advisory Board member and regular performer at the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival.
In 1996 LaFave received the Kerrville Folk Festival songwriter of the year award and appeared on the TV show Austin City Limits. He recorded 15 albums and his 2007 release, Cimarron Manifesto, reached the No. 1 mark on the Americana Music Association album chart. In 2012, LaFave released the studio album Depending on the Distance.
LaFave was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2017 alongside Carl Belew, musician-actor Rodney Lay, the Red Dirt Rangers, David Teegarden, Sr. and singer-harmonica player Junior Markham.
Early life
While living in Wills Point, Texas, LaFave began playing the drums and later moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma and played in the school band. At age 15 LaFave switched to guitar and began writing and singing his own songs in a band called The Night Tribe.
Career
After graduating from high school LaFave played music at night while working during the day. He had a job as the manager of a music club called Up Your Alley and during this period recorded the albums Down Under in 1979 and Broken Line in 1981. Later, in 1988, LaFave self-released a cassette only album "Highway Angels... Full Moon Rain", which featured his photography as the cover artwork.
Red Dirt Music scene
While living in Stillwater, LaFave and a loose collection of songwriters at a local venue known as "the farm" began developing a sound that would later become known as "red dirt music". During that time, LaFave met Bob Childers and produced his first record. Mixing blues, jazz, and country influences he began writing songs inspired by J. J. Cale, Chet Baker, Bob Dylan and Leon Russell. Sometime after Childers' death in 2008, a one-day singer-songwriter festival called Bob Childers' Gypsy Café became an annual event in Stillwater. The festival is a fundraiser for the non-profit Red Dirt Relief Fund. On April 26, 2017, during the festival, LaFave was the inaugural recipient of the Restless Spirit Award – an award whose name comes from a Childers' song.
1992 to 2004
After traveling to several other cities, LaFave relocated to Austin, Texas.
In 1992 La Fave signed with Colorado-based Bohemia Beat Records and recorded his debut album, Austin Skyline, which included four Bob Dylan songs and consisted of live performances and recordings from four Austin, Texas live music venues including La Zona Rosa and Chicago House. That 4th album was followed by Highway Trance in 1994 and Buffalo Return to the Plains in 1995. Between 1997 and 2001, LaFave released three more albums on the label including the 1999 double CD Trail, which was a 15-year retrospective of live performances and studio outtakes. In December 1995, LaFave won the Songwriter of the Year Award at the Kerrville Folk Festival and in March 1996 received the same honor at the Austin Music Awards sponsored by The Austin Chronicle. LaFave gained nationwide exposure in 1996 through his appearance on the PBS music show Austin City Limits when he was paired with Lisa Loeb for an evening of "acoustic ballads and electrified folk-rock numbers". In 1996, LaFave made an appearance at a tribute to Woody Guthrie held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the invitation of Guthrie's daughter.
In 1998, LaFave began attending the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festivals held in Guthrie's hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma and in 2007 became a member of the Woody Guthrie Coalition that organizes the festival. LaFave says Woody Guthrie is his musical hero and pays homage to him in the song "Woody Guthrie" on the Texoma album. Album reviewers described it as "reminiscent of the Dust Bowl heritage of Woody Guthrie, the early rock of Chuck Berry, the quiet folk reflections of Bob Dylan, and the rock anthems of Bruce Springsteen" and "honest, thoughtful and sincere" music. LaFave's "red dirt music" sound has been described as a mix of rock, folk, rockabilly, and country, grounded in the landscape of Texas and Oklahoma and can be heard on this album.