Blaze Foley
| Blaze Foley | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael David Fuller |
| Born |
December 18, 1949 Malvern, Arkansas |
| Died | February 1, 1989 (aged 39) Austin, Texas |
Michael David Fuller (December 18, 1949 – February 1, 1989), better known under the stage name Blaze Foley, was an American country music singer-songwriter.
Foley was born Michael David Fuller in Malvern, Arkansas, but grew up in Texas. He performed in a gospel band called The Singing Fuller Family with his mother, brother and sisters. After leaving home, he performed in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, and finally Austin, Texas. He was close friends with Townes Van Zandt.
His song "If I Could Only Fly" became a hit in the interpretation of Merle Haggard. His song "Election Day" was covered by Lyle Lovett on his 2003 album My Baby Don't Tolerate and his song "Clay Pigeons" was covered by John Prine on his Grammy Award winning 2005 album Fair and Square. Joe Nichols paid tribute to "If I Could Only Fly" by recording it for his album Real Things released in 2007.
In 1989, Foley was shot in the chest and killed by Carey January, the son of Foley's friend Concho January. Carey January was acquitted of murder in the first degree by reason of self-defense. He and his father presented completely different versions of the shooting at trial.
Foley's stage name was influenced by his admiration of Red Foley.
Foley placed duct tape on the tips of his cowboy boots to mock the "Urban Cowboy" crazed folks with their silver tipped cowboy boots. He later made a suit out of duct tape that he used to walk around in. At his funeral, his casket was coated with duct tape by his friends.Townes Van Zandt has told a story in which he and his musicians went to Foley's grave to dig up his body because they wanted the pawn ticket that Foley had for Townes' guitar.
The master tapes from his first studio album were confiscated by the DEA when the executive producer was caught in a drug bust. Another studio album disappeared when the master copies were in a station wagon, which Foley had been given and lived in. The station wagon was broken into and his belongings stolen. A third studio album, Wanted More Dead Than Alive, had almost disappeared until, many years after Blaze died, a friend who was cleaning out his car discovered what sounded like the Bee Creek recording sessions on which he and other musicians had performed. This album was Foley's last studio project and he was scheduled to tour the UK with Townes Van Zandt in support of the album. When Foley died, his attorney immediately nullified the recording contract and the master tapes subsequently went missing (and reportedly were lost in a flood).
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