Gary P Nunn, known as one of the fathers of Texas Country Music was back in Lubbock this month at the Cactus Theater playing for fans and friends that he made back in Brownfield during his childhood. I got to sit down with him and talk about his love of music.
Gary’s love of music began as a small child but it was the night of the talent show when he was in the 8th grade in Brownfield where his story really begins. His band won the talent show and the rest is history. Gary told me, “all the girls went crazy so I was hooked from there and I though every night has got to be like this night.”
Nunn’s career spans decades and he tells me what it’s like to write a song, “writing a song to me is like painting a picture, it’s trying to communicate how I feel inside.” And it’s songs like ‘London Homesick Blues’, ‘What I like about Texas’, ‘Terlingua Sky’ and ‘Last thing I needed first thing this morning’ that have made Gary P Nunn a staple in Texas. He says, “we were always looking for songs that had lasting value and would always be – not just singing about the party we are having today – and we are fortunate a lot of the songs we wrote in the 70’s are classics today.”
Nunn states while he hopes Texas Country will never go out of style, he jokes that he has been wrong before, “I was wrong about Willie, I got to play with him in ’72 and if you’d have told me he was going to be one of the biggest stars on the planet at that time I would’ve said I don’t see it, but I wasn’t looking through Willie’s eyes.”
In 1973, Nunn got his big break when playing with Jerry Jeff Walker and ended up writing and playing London Homesick Blues on the album. Gary says that throughout his career one of his biggest idols has been Willie Nelson. “He’s a great character, he’s been a big influence to me. Just because that mainly the focus and determination and submitting your whole life to it and committing.”
It’s not something he brags about but he feels honored when a starting musician comes up to him and says that he has looked up to Nunn and got inspiration from him.
As for what’s next for Gary P Nunn, he has a book coming out later this year about his life and career.
