Biography
Butch Hancock played a key role in launching the progressive country sound of the 1970s through his work with the innovative Flatlanders. On his own, he issued a run of country-folk records via the independent Rainlight imprint he founded, records that highlighted his sharp lyrical turns, offbeat wit, and understated vocal style reminiscent of Bob Dylan. Although operating outside major-label channels limited his mainstream visibility, the approach secured him a loyal following, particularly across his home state of Texas.
Born in Lubbock, Texas, in 1945, Hancock spent his childhood on a farm and began composing songs while operating his father’s tractor. During high school he formed a musical circle with Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Joe Ely, two like-minded outsiders who rejected mainstream country conventions. After graduation he enrolled in architectural studies yet soon returned to the family farm in Lubbock. There he rejoined Gilmore and Ely, and in 1970 the trio launched the Flatlanders. In 1972 they recorded for Plantation Records, a budget subsidiary of the fading Sun label, during a Nashville session. When their debut single failed to connect, the sole album, Jimmie Dale & the Flatlanders, appeared in only minimal quantities in 1973, prompting the members to pursue separate paths. Ely’s subsequent solo success in the late 1970s brought renewed attention to Hancock’s catalog, placing such Hancock compositions as “West Texas Waltz,” “If I Were a Bluebird” (later recorded by Emmylou Harris), “She Never Spoke Spanish to Me” (covered by the Texas Tornados), and “Boxcars” before broader audiences.
Ely’s versions helped draw fresh interest to Hancock, who nevertheless resumed his career independently by relocating to Austin, the center of the progressive country scene, and establishing Rainlight. His debut, West Texas Waltzes and Dust-Blown Tractor Tunes, arrived in 1978 as a stripped-down collection that emphasized his songwriting strength. The following year he released the double album The Wind’s Dominion, which explored richer arrangements and a wider sonic range. Diamond Hill, issued in 1980 with a complete band, and the live recording Firewater, released in 1981, further solidified his standing within Texas roots-music circles. After pausing recording to focus on photography and video work, Hancock returned in 1985 with Yella Rose, recorded with Marce Lacoutre, and followed it with Split & Slide in 1986.
When Gilmore later revived his own solo career, the growing reputation of the Flatlanders once again spotlighted Hancock’s material. In 1989 Sugar Hill, a bluegrass-focused label, assembled Own & Own, a retrospective drawn from Hancock’s earlier Rainlight releases. Around the same period Hancock and Gilmore toured Australia, resulting in the live album Two Roads, while Hancock also issued Cause of the Cactus on Rainlight in 1991. Another Sugar Hill compilation, Own the Way Over Here, appeared in 1993, and the next year Hancock contributed material to Chippy, a theatrical work about a Texas prostitute that Ely helped write.
Hancock’s first non-compilation studio album for an outside label, Eats Away the Night, emerged on Sugar Hill in 1995 and was widely praised as one of his strongest collections. In subsequent years he made many of his earlier recordings available in digital formats and released the new Rainlight album You Coulda Walked Around the World in 1999. He joined the reunited Flatlanders for touring in 2000, after which he left Austin for the small desert community of Terlingua, where he worked as a white-water rafting guide and resumed architectural practice by designing and constructing his own residence. The Flatlanders issued the well-received reunion album Now Again in 2002, while Hancock himself delivered the politically pointed War and Peace in 2006.
Born in Lubbock, Texas, in 1945, Hancock spent his childhood on a farm and began composing songs while operating his father’s tractor. During high school he formed a musical circle with Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Joe Ely, two like-minded outsiders who rejected mainstream country conventions. After graduation he enrolled in architectural studies yet soon returned to the family farm in Lubbock. There he rejoined Gilmore and Ely, and in 1970 the trio launched the Flatlanders. In 1972 they recorded for Plantation Records, a budget subsidiary of the fading Sun label, during a Nashville session. When their debut single failed to connect, the sole album, Jimmie Dale & the Flatlanders, appeared in only minimal quantities in 1973, prompting the members to pursue separate paths. Ely’s subsequent solo success in the late 1970s brought renewed attention to Hancock’s catalog, placing such Hancock compositions as “West Texas Waltz,” “If I Were a Bluebird” (later recorded by Emmylou Harris), “She Never Spoke Spanish to Me” (covered by the Texas Tornados), and “Boxcars” before broader audiences.
Ely’s versions helped draw fresh interest to Hancock, who nevertheless resumed his career independently by relocating to Austin, the center of the progressive country scene, and establishing Rainlight. His debut, West Texas Waltzes and Dust-Blown Tractor Tunes, arrived in 1978 as a stripped-down collection that emphasized his songwriting strength. The following year he released the double album The Wind’s Dominion, which explored richer arrangements and a wider sonic range. Diamond Hill, issued in 1980 with a complete band, and the live recording Firewater, released in 1981, further solidified his standing within Texas roots-music circles. After pausing recording to focus on photography and video work, Hancock returned in 1985 with Yella Rose, recorded with Marce Lacoutre, and followed it with Split & Slide in 1986.
When Gilmore later revived his own solo career, the growing reputation of the Flatlanders once again spotlighted Hancock’s material. In 1989 Sugar Hill, a bluegrass-focused label, assembled Own & Own, a retrospective drawn from Hancock’s earlier Rainlight releases. Around the same period Hancock and Gilmore toured Australia, resulting in the live album Two Roads, while Hancock also issued Cause of the Cactus on Rainlight in 1991. Another Sugar Hill compilation, Own the Way Over Here, appeared in 1993, and the next year Hancock contributed material to Chippy, a theatrical work about a Texas prostitute that Ely helped write.
Hancock’s first non-compilation studio album for an outside label, Eats Away the Night, emerged on Sugar Hill in 1995 and was widely praised as one of his strongest collections. In subsequent years he made many of his earlier recordings available in digital formats and released the new Rainlight album You Coulda Walked Around the World in 1999. He joined the reunited Flatlanders for touring in 2000, after which he left Austin for the small desert community of Terlingua, where he worked as a white-water rafting guide and resumed architectural practice by designing and constructing his own residence. The Flatlanders issued the well-received reunion album Now Again in 2002, while Hancock himself delivered the politically pointed War and Peace in 2006.