You’ve gotta love Lyle Lovett

I was surprised to hear Lyle Lovett was  in town – well, Wellingtown.

I saw him interviewed by a rather fawning and harried Mike Hosking and then again on Saturday Morning with Kim Hill by a more illuminating Mark Cubey.  What a treat and what a sweet and wise Southern gentleman.

I always liked his music, not that I am a huge country fan, but it is music that defies labelling.  Its everything from hillbilly through folk to rock ‘n roll but he is always true to his country roots.  Its simple stuff but with that distinctive plaintive voice and his keen sense of irony and humour.  I would have liked to ask him why he wrote that crazy song, “Fat babies have no pride”.  Why can’t I stop singing it when I see a fat baby – just to myself of course…

I love his short back and sides curly mop top and long chiselled face. He hasn’t changed his cool style since he started out in the 80s. Lyle is a man who feels undressed without his cowboy boots and his stetson.   He breeds and shows horses as well.  Brought up in Klein, Texas on his daddy’s farm where they grew vegetables for a living – he lives there still – now enveloped by the suburbs.

Ironically his marriage to Julia Roberts probably brought him to the attention of the international scene.  When asked about his marriage, he said he didn’t mind in the least being asked but he wouldn’t say a word about it.

He has appeared in a number of movies and TV shows, notably Robert Altman’s The Player, Short Cuts and Pret-a-Porter and was asked to be a barman in Crazy Heart but unfortunately couldn’t make it.

Anyway, I have been listening to his latest cd, Natural Forces, and it doesn’t disappoint.   It’s nice to know some things never change.  Did anyone catch his show?