BILLY JOE SHAVER

Billy Joe Shaver is a hitmaker whose album Honky Tonk Heroes made it to the top charts in the early ‘70s. He has worked with equally iconic musicians such as Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson. In 2007, Shaver made headlines not for his music but for some allegations which he was found innocent. The singer had to face a case and consult his lawyers during an altercation with a man in a bar near his Waco home. His case gathered massive support from his friends in the industry, including Robert Duvall.

He was eventually proven innocent. Shaver went back to writing songs and got inspiration from the ordeal. Shaver, later on, wrote about this experience in his song Wacko from Waco. On October 28 of 2020, Shaver suffered a stroke and died in his hometown of Waco, Texas. The man was such a presence onstage that even legendary country-singer Willie Nelson once referred to him as the “greatest living songwriter.”