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Steven John Fromholz | |
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 Steven Fromholz at the 2007Texas Book Festival. | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1945-06-08)June 8, 1945 Temple, Texas, United States |
| Died | January 19, 2014(2014-01-19) (aged 68) Eldorado, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Texas country,outlaw country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, poet |
| Years active | 1960–2013 |
| Formerly of | Stephen Stills,Rick Roberts,Lyle Lovett,Willie Nelson |
Steven John Fromholz (June 8, 1945[1] – January 19, 2014)[2] was an American singer-songwriter who was selected as thePoet Laureate of Texas for 2007.
Steven Fromholz was born inTemple, Texas, United States,[1] and graduated from high school in Denton, Texas in 1963. That same year, he began atNorth Texas State College where he was president of theFolk Music Club.[2] He served in theUnited States Navy in California from 1963 to 1968 and began performing during this time. After leaving the navy, he teamed with Dan McCrimmon to create the group Frummox.[3] Fromholz also played withStephen Stills[1] andRick Roberts before going solo.Willie Nelson recorded Fromholz's "I'd Have to be Crazy"[1] (it reached number 11 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart and Fromholz sang harmony) andLyle Lovett covered "Texas Trilogy" and "Bears." Other artists who have recorded his songs includeHoyt Axton,John Denver,Jerry Jeff Walker, andSturgill Simpson.
In addition to singing and songwriting, Fromholz dabbled in acting, playwriting, poetry, record producing, narrating,jingle-writing andwhitewater river guiding. In 2007, he was namedPoet Laureate of the State of Texas by the Texas State Legislature.[4] His latest book isSteven Fromholz: New and Selected Works.
He had two daughters; Darcie (to whom the song "Dear Darcie" is dedicated) and Felicity (for whom his record label Felicity Records is named). His life and works are the subject of an Austin Sayre documentary film currently in production titled "The Man with the Big Hat."[5]
Fromholz's first album,Here to There, has become a difficult-to-find Texas classic, as it has long been out of print.[6]
It was recorded with music partner Dan McCrimmon as the duo "Frummox" in 1969 on ABC Probe Records, CPLP 4511. This album is a seminal work, pre-dating and foreshadowing the Texas Music scene-to-come, when Willie Nelson relocated from Nashville to Austin and became the icon of "Outlaw" music. This album has never been officially released on CD. Notable on the album is his "Texas Trilogy," a set of three songs meant to be played as one long work: "Daybreak," "Trainride," and "Bosque County Romance," portraying life in rural Texas in the 1950s, set in the town ofKopperl, inBosque County, Texas.[7]
Track list (time):
Fromholz's "Texas Trilogy" was the basis of a book by Craig D. Hillis and Bruce F. Jordan,Texas Trilogy: Life in a Small Texas Town, in which the authors accompanied and illustrated the trilogy's lyrics, set in the town of Kopperl, Texas, with photographs of the surrounding landscape. It also contains interviews with principal characters within the town. The book was praised for its photographs, though not for its text.[8]
In addition, Fromholz himself published a book calledTexas Trilogy.
In the early afternoon of January 19, 2014, Fromholz was fatally injured when a rifle fell from its case and discharged.[2] He died en route to the hospital. The accident occurred as Fromholz was making preparations to hunt feral hogs who were killing the baby goats on a ranch near his residence outsideEldorado, Texas. He is buried in the nearby Fort McKavett Cemetery.
In 2019, efforts began toward the making of a documentary film about the life and works of Fromholz, titled The Man with the Big Hat, the name of one of his most popular songs. The film was directed by Austin Sayre, and produced by Three Chords And The Truth, alongside Brian Easley and Stephanie Moore. The documentary was shot over several years in multiple states, with cinematography by Aaron Colussi and David Broad, sound by Miles Blunt, and editing by Nevie Owens.[9] The Man with the Big Hat features interviews with Lyle Lovett, Darcie and Felicity Fromholz, Ray Benson, Janey Lake, Darden Smith, Bobbie Bridger, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and others. The Man with the Big Hat will premiere in 2025.[10]
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