David Olney

A singer and songwriter of considerable renown who amassed more than twenty albums, David Olney received the description “Nashville’s answer to the Bard.” Beyond his own recordings he earned esteem as a songwriter whose material was co-written with or interpreted by Johnny Cash, Del McCoury, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, and Townes Van Zandt, among others. Although rooted in folk traditions, he routinely blended elements of honky tonk and rock into his performances. Born in Rhode Island, he relocated to Nashville in the early 1970s and quickly became a central figure in the city’s underground folk and country circles. A contract with the folk label Philo followed several years later. His first six albums appeared before the decade closed, yet his release pace slackened markedly during the 1980s. He returned to Philo in 1995 with High, Wide and Lonesome, supported by an ensemble of roots-rock luminaries that included Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Rodney Crowell, and Brian Ahern. Real Lies arrived in 1997 and featured contributions from John Prine and Garth Hudson, while Through a Glass Darkly appeared in 1999. Olney maintained a steady output through the next decade, issuing Omar’s Blues in 2000, The Wheel in 2003, and Migration in 2005; his expanding European following, especially in Holland, produced three live albums taped at separate venues there. Dutchman’s Curve opened the following decade in 2010 and was succeeded by the thematic EPs Film Noir in 2011, The Stone in 2012, and Robbery & Murder in 2012, later gathered into a box set. During the same period he inaugurated the weekly interactive streamcast video series Hear & Now, on which he performed songs and recounted their origins. Between these broadcasts and an active touring schedule he found time to release the studio album When the Deal Goes Down in 2014. Another studio album, Don’t Try to Fight It, appeared in early 2017. David Olney died at age 71 on January 18, 2020, during a performance at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.