David Charles Olney (March 23, 1948 – January 18, 2020) was an American

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

singer-songwriter. Olney recorded more than twenty albums over his five-decade career. His songs have been covered by numerous artists, including

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

Del McCoury Delano Floyd McCoury (born February 1, 1939) is an American bluegrass musician. As leader of the Del McCoury Band, he plays guitar and sings lead vocals along with his two sons, Ronnie McCoury and Rob McCoury, who play mandolin and banjo respec ...

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

and

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...

Career

Olney was born on March 23, 1948, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. After briefly attending the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, he joined Bland Simpson's band ''Simpson''. They recorded one album in New York in 1971. The next year he relocated to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and in 1973 moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

with the hope of selling his material to record labels. In the early 1980s, he formed the band The X-Rays, which recorded two albums for

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...

. The group appeared on

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show t ...

, opened for major acts, including

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

, and broke up in 1985. Over the following decades, Olney performed as a solo singer-songwriter, releasing more than 20 albums including six live recordings. He collaborated with artists such as John Hadley and Sergio Webb. His songs were

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by and co-written with

Steve Young Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccane ...

, and

Laurie Lewis Laurie Lewis is an innovative American singer, musician, and songwriter in the genre of bluegrass music. History Laurie Lewis was born in Long Beach, California on September 28, 1950. Her family moved regularly from place to place until she w ...

, among many others. Olney was a key member of Nashville's music community. The

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

native was a compelling and enigmatic presence in

Music City Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect o ...

. He wrote sonnets and starred at the

Nashville Shakespeare Festival The Nashville Shakespeare Festival is a Shakespeare festival in Nashville, Tennessee. History The Nashville Shakespeare Festival (NSF) originated as the political theatre group Theatrevolution. Theatrevolution was started by theatre director C ...

, and his live concerts blended tenderness and ferocity, theatre and sincerity, agitation and embrace.

Personal life and death

Olney resided in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, with his wife Regine, with whom he had a son, Redding, and a daughter, Lillian. Olney formed a mutual admiration with

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

when he began his solo career. Van Zandt bought Olney a sport coat from a Goodwill store in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

. Olney died of an apparent heart attack during a performance onstage at the 30A Songwriter Festival in

Santa Rosa Beach, Florida Santa Rosa Beach is an unincorporated community in Walton County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Santa Rosa Beach, FL is located at 30.3960324°, -8 ...

, on January 18, 2020, at the age of seventy-one. He was in the middle of his third song when he stopped, apologized and shut his eyes, according to fellow musician Scott Miller, who was accompanying Olney.

Discography

Solo albums

* 1986: ''Eye of the Storm'' (

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's deplo ...

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

) * 1989: ''Deeper Well'' (

) * 1991: ''Roses'' (

) * 1991: ''Top to Bottom'' (Appaloosa) * 1992: ''Border Crossing'' (SilenZ Records) * 1994: ''Ache of Longing'' (Roadsongs) * 1994: ''Live in Holland'' (Strictly Country Records) * 1995: ''High, Wide and Lonesome'' (

) * 1997: ''Real Lies'' (

) * 1999: ''Through a Glass Darkly'' (

) * 1999: ''Ghosts in the Wind: Live at La Casa, Michigan'' (Barbed) * 2000: ''Omar's Blues'' (

Dead Reckoning In navigation, dead reckoning is the process of calculating current position of some moving object by using a previously determined position, or fix, and then incorporating estimates of speed, heading direction, and course over elapsed time. ...

) * 2002: ''Women Across the River: Live in Holland'' (Strictly Country Records) * 2003: ''The Wheel'' (Loud House) * 2004: ''Illegal Cargo: Live in Holland'' (Strictly Country Records) * 2005: ''Migration'' (Loud House) * 2007: ''One Tough Town'' ( Red Parlor) * 2007: ''Lenora: Live in Holland'' (Strictly Country Records) * 2007: ''Illegal Cargo'' (South Central Music) * 2008: ''Live at Norm's River Roadhouse, Volume 1'' (Deadbeat) with Sergio Webb and Jack Irwin * 2009: ''Ol' Diz: A Musical Baseball Story. A Songwriters' Work in Progress'' (Deadbeet) with John Hadley * 2010: ''Dutchman's Curve'' (Deadbeet/Continental Song City) * 2012: ''Body of evidence'' (Deadbeet) collects the EPs ''Film Noir'', ''The Stone'', and ''Robbery & Murder'' as a 3-CD box set * 2013: ''Predicting The Past: Introducing Americana Music Vol.2'' (Rootsy) wo discs. Disc 2: retrospective 2000–2012, all previously releasedref name=AllMusicDisc /> * 2014: ''Sweet Poison'' (Strictly Country Records) available at shows starting Nov. 2013, generally released in Jan. 2014 * 2014: ''When the Deal Goes Down'' (Deadbeet) * 2016: ''Holiday in Holland'' DVD + CD (Strictly Country Records) with Sergio Webb * 2017: ''Don't Try to Fight It'' ( Red Parlor) * 2018: ''This Side or the Other'' (Black Hen Music)

Solo EPs

* 2011: ''Film Noir'' (Deadbeet) * 2012: ''The Stone'' (Deadbeet) * 2012: ''Robbery & Murder'' (Deadbeet)

With Anana Kaye

* 2021: "Whispers and Sighs" (Schoolkids Records)

With Bland Simpson

* 1971: ''Simpson''

With the X-rays

* 1981: ''Contender'' (

) * 1984: ''Customized'' (Boulevard)

With Nashville Jug Band

* 1982: ''Nashville Jug Band'' (

)

Singles

* 2014: "When the Deal Comes Down"

As composer

* 1985: Mike Cross – ''Solo at Midnight'' ( Sugar Hill) – track 5, "Georgia May" * 1985:

Mimi Fariña Margarita Mimi Baez Fariña (April 30, 1945 – July 18, 2001) was an American singer-songwriter and activist, the youngest of three daughters to a Scottish mother and Mexican-American physicist Albert Baez. She was the younger sister of t ...

– ''Solo'' (

) – track 5, "If My Eyes Were Blind" * 1986:

– ''Look Homeward Angel'' (Mill) – track 3, "If My Eyes Were Blind" * 1993:

– ''

Cowgirl's Prayer ''Cowgirl's Prayer'' is the seventeenth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris, released on September 28, 1993 by Warner Bros. Records. Coming immediately after 1992's live acoustic ''At the Ryman'' album, ''Cowgirl's Prayer'' is ...

'' (

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

– track 8, "Jerusalem Tomorrow" * 1995:

– ''

Wrecking Ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a crane, that is used for demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1950s and 1960s. Several wrecking companies claim to have invented the wrecking ball. An e ...

'' (Elektra / Asylum) – track 6, "Deeper Well" co-written with

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie ...

and Emmylou Harris * 1995:

– '' Feels Like Home'' ( Elektra – track 9, "Women Cross the River" * 1996:

Garnet Rogers Garnet Rogers (born May 1955) is a Canadian folk musician, singer, songwriter and composer. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario with roots in Nova Scotia. He began his professional career working with his older brother, folk musician Stan Rogers, an ...

– ''Night Drive'' ([Snow Goose) – track 6, "Love's Been Linked To The Blues" * 1999:

and

– ''Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions'' (Asylum) – track 5, "1917" * 2006:

Kieran Kane Kieran Kane (born October 7, 1949) is an American country music artist, as well as the owner of Dead Reckoning Records, an independent record label. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Jamie O'Hara comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven si ...

, Kevin Welch, and Fats Kaplin – ''Lost John Dean'' (

Compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

– track 5, "Postcard From Mexico" (co-written with John Hadley); track 8, "Mr Bones" (co-written with Claudia Scott, John Hadley, and Kevin Welch) * 2006:

Slaid Cleaves Slaid Cleaves is an American singer-songwriter born in Washington, D.C. and raised in South Berwick, Maine and Round Pond, Maine, United States. An alumnus of Tufts University, where he majored in English and philosophy, Cleaves lives in Aust ...

– ''Unsung'' (

) – track 7, "Millionaire" * 2007: Mae Robertson – ''Dream'' (Lyric Partners) – track 14: "Dream a Dream" co-written with Carol Elliott * 2008: Eric Brace and Peter Cooper – ''You Don't Have to Like Them Both'' (Red Beet / CoraZong) – track 2, "Omar's Blues #2" * 2008: Tim O'Brien – ''Chameleon'' (Howdy Skies) – track 3, "The Garden"; track 7, "Chameleon"; track 12, "When In Rome" (all co-written with John Hadley and Tim O'Brien * 2009:

– ''By Request'' (McCoury Music) – track 11, "Queen Anne's Lace" * 2009: Pascal Briggs – ''The Mercenary'' (Drumming Monkey) – track 3, "Millionaire" * 2009:

– ''Somewhere Beyond the Roses'' (

) – track 8, "I Took My Power Back" (co-written with Kieran Kane) * 2009:

The Wailin' Jennys The Wailin' Jennys are a Canadian music group. They have released several albums and received two Juno Awards. The group has been featured several times on the American Public Media program ''A Prairie Home Companion'' and their album ''Firecr ...

– ''Live at the Mauch Opera House'' ( Red House) – track 1, "Deeper Well" co-written with

and

* 2011: Annika Fehling – ''Fireflies'' (Rootsy) – track 12, "I Know Better" (co-written with Annika Fehling) * 2012: Rocky Hill – ''Lone Star Legend'' (Floating World) – track 1, "Take A Message To Garcia"; track 2, "Go Down Dupree", Track 7, "Charleston Knife" *2014: Rory McNamara – The Ring Of Truth Trio – ''Dangerous Business'' – (Rolltop Discs) – track 4 – "''Walk Downtown''".

As guest musician

* 2015:

Tom Russell Thomas George Russell (born 1947/1948) is an American singer-songwriter. Although most strongly identified with the Americana music tradition, his music also incorporates elements of folk, rock, and the cowboy music of the American West. Many ...

– ''

The Rose of Roscrae ''The Rose of Roscrae'' is a studio album by American musician Tom Russell. It was released in April 2015 under Proper Records. The misspelling of Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a populati ...

'' (

Proper Proper may refer to: Mathematics * Proper map, in topology, a property of continuous function between topological spaces, if inverse images of compact subsets are compact * Proper morphism, in algebraic geometry, an analogue of a proper map for ...

)

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Official web site
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olney, David 1948 births 2020 deaths American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters American folk musicians Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island Musicians who died on stage Singers from Rhode Island Songwriters from Rhode Island Singer-songwriters from Tennessee University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Black Hen Music artists Rounder Records artists