Jimmie Dale Gilmore - Spinning Around The Sun
On this weeks episode, we take a listen to a true Texas legend, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and his 1993, Spinning Around the Sun.
With his high, lonesome voice, Jimmy Dale embodies the very essence of that land from which he hails, the Texas Panhandle. Even thought he was in his forties when his first solo album was recorded, he had already made his mark on the musical landscape of the Lone Star State, having been in the legendary Flatlanders (along with Joe Ely and Butch Hancock) and the Hub City Movers (the first band to play the Armadillo World Headquarters). By the time he recorded his fourth solo outing, Spinning Around the Sun, Jimmie Dale had found his voice. Hailed as his break out LP, Jimmie Dale sings his heart out on songs he penned and a choice selections of tunes written by other notable songwriters, and features fantastic duet with Lucinda Williams. Spinning Around the Sun is a remarkable album filled with songs of beauty and heartbreak, earning him his first of three Grammy nominations.
THINGS WE DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE
Jimmy Dale Gilmore, circa1970.
Local Austin legends, the Hub City Movers (Jimmie Dale is second from the left).
Jimmie Dale playing bass for the Hub City Movers in 1972.
The Hub City Movers released one single in 1969: “The Chicken Song” backed with the Jimmie Dale sung “I Can't Know Tomorrow.”
“The Chicken Song” was based on a comic drawn by Gilbert Shelton of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers fame. The artwork for the single was also done by Shelton.
The Hub City Movers had a residency at the legendary Austin venue the Vulcan Gas Company.
It was while attending a Hub City Movers show that Eddie Wilson came up with the idea to open another legendary Austin music venue, the Armadillo World Headquarters. The Hub City Movers were the first band to play there.
The Flatlanders (with dog).
Pictured (from L to R): Steve Wesson, Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Tony Pearson, and Joe Ely.
While attending a talk in Austin by the 15 year old Guru Maharaj Ji (pictured), Jimmie Dale became a devoted follower, eventually moving to Colorado to live in an a ashram, where he spent spent most of the 1970s.
By 1980, Jimmie Dale had moved back to Austin and decided to devote his life to music.
Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Rich Brotherton, Champ Hood, and Joe Ely playing at Threadgill’s in Austin, circa 1980s.
Sitting Around the Sun included a cover of the Hank Williams standard “I’m SO Lonesome I Could Cry.” Jimmie Dale’s label, Electra Records, made a video for the song.
Here’s Jimmie Dale performing “I Was the One” on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in 1993.
Here’s Jimmie Dale performing "Another Colorado” in 2010.
The The Flatlanders performing the Jimmie Dale classic "Dallas” on Austin City Limits in 2002.
In 2018, Jimmie Dale hooked up with Dave Alvin to record Downey to Lubbock. The two returend to the studio to record the followup Texicali in 2024.
