When the emails started coming in last night, I couldn’t believe it. The word was starting to get around that Nashville-based musician Will Owsley (probably best known to most as Amy Grant’s guitar player) had taken his own life, leaving behind a family including two kids. Grant released a short statement earlier today:
“We are all reeling today from the news of Will Owsley’s death. So many of us in Nashville worked with Will, lived with him on the road, celebrated his talents and knew his anguish. Please join us in praying for his family and his children”
In addition to being Grant’s touring guitarist since 1994, Will had also recorded two wonderful albums of power pop perfection – the self-titled Owsley album, released in 1999 on Giant Records, and the independently released 2004 follow-up, The Hard Way.
Both albums were filled with lyrics that addressed both the hardship and joys of life, with a lyrical positivity drawn no doubt from his own faith. Listening to those albums offered me a personal new perspective for where I was in life at the time that I first heard each of those albums.
Owsley as a musician wasn’t a household name, but in my experiences and conversations with fellow music fans, those who heard the two albums that Will put out, loved them to pieces just as much as I did. (Attn: Fans of Jellyfish, Jason Falkner, the Grays, etc – this stuff is for you!) Steady touring work with Grant helped to pave the way financially for him to build his own studio space, giving him a home base to work on Owsley music.
Before all of that, Owsley was a member of The Semantics, a Nashville group that featured Ben Folds in an early lineup, collaborator Millard Powers and Ringo offspring/future Who drummer Zak Starkey. Google “semantics powerbill,” and you’ll come up with a lengthy list of raves for the group’s lone release Powerbill, an album that was released in Japan only in 1993.
I first heard the Owsley album during my time in radio, a discovery in the usual way – I had been opening that day’s mail, and in one of the packages was the Owsley disc. Since my earliest days working in record stores, I’ve always had a habit of popping in every CD that comes in, to give it at least a quick spin-through, 20 seconds per track, to see what each release is all about. And this method brought me my proper introduction to the Owsley album. A great release that tanked miserably, Owsley became one of those “whatever happened to” artists until The Hard Way finally came along in 2004. As great as Owsley was, The Hard Way was 10 times better in my opinion (although many seem to prefer the self-titled disc).
The Hard Way packed a sonic punch that saw me putting my fist in the air three tracks in as “She’s The One” kicked in. I’m not going to lie – 2003 was a shitty year, and if you’ve been in that place, perhaps you can appreciate getting that one album at just the right time when you need it. The Hard Way was that album for me – as I recall, I bought a pre-release copy in 2003 via CDBaby (or perhaps had an early advance promo), and I listened to that album over and over whether I was at home or on the go in the car, with a frequency that I hadn’t given to any album in a long time.
I had just put “She’s The One” on a mix late last year, and only just a few weeks ago, I had gone off in fanboy pursuit of Owsley. It had been a few years since Owsley’s last bit of music – a digital only two-song release, and the last update from 2006 on his Myspace page, indicated that he was working on new music. It occurred to me that there had been a contact email address on his website, so I went to the site, clicked on the email address and sent an email of inquiry to Will. The email immediately bounced back – the address was dead, and I moved on to other activities.
Those final Myspace updates from 2006 had word of an additional planned two-song release, as well as news of an acoustic album:
He is also currently working on a new project – it’s going to be a full album, all acoustic, and the sound will be a bit of a departure from what we’re used to. He has not named the project yet (so he’s not sure if it’ll be an “Owsley” album or released under a band name) but it’ll include a re-recording of a song or two from his first solo release along with brand new songs. Those of you who remember Doli from the live gigs, he’ll be playing upright bass in this latest endeavor. Owsley is working on this project every day and is really excited about it.
Besides the above rumored acoustic album, Owsley certainly leaves behind some recorded music that hasn’t been heard by people – I was interested to learn that Owsley recorded 32 mastered songs for Warner Brothers while working on the follow-up to Owsley, and portions of those sessions eventually found their way to release via The Hard Way. Recently, Will had been doing a steady amount of session work in Los Angeles, including some recording with The Jonas Brothers.
I really hate suicide. 22 years removed from the first time that suicide touched my life personally, I don’t understand it any better – how and why suicide becomes the final solution, particularly for someone that has kids. In situations where I knew the particulars, it doesn’t make sense, and for someone like Will Owsley, where I don’t know the situation, it just makes me sad. I hope for the best for his family and friends as they deal with this unexpected event. So sorry, Will – hope that you’ve found peace.
I’ll leave you with a few of my Owsley favorites, and if you dig these, you’ll definitely want to add the Owsley and The Hard Way albums to your purchase pile – both are power pop gems that are nearly guaranteed enjoyment waiting to happen. Will grew up on a steady diet of bands like Wings, Kiss and The Cars (and according to Wikipedia, he was a big Eddie Van Halen fan as well, which means we would have had plenty to talk about!) – and you can definitely hear the McCartney influence on tracks like “Rainy Day People,” while “Good Old Days” found a place with me instantly, because of how much it reminded me of Kevin Gilbert and Toy Matinee.
Owsley – I’m Alright (from Owsley)
Owsley – She’s the One (from The Hard Way)
Owsley – Good Old Days (from Owsley)
Owsley – Rainy Day People / Band on the Run (Wings cover) (from The Hard Way)
Additional Listening:
Amy Grant – Time Again… (live recordings featuring Will Owsley on guitar)
Tragic,
Who knows why people do what they do. We can only be glad for the joy his life and work gave us. RIP Will
i'm the recipient of the mix that “she's the one” was on; i couldn't believe i had never heard the song before. it's a perfect pop song. i also can't believe it wasn't a huger hit. i somehow knew his self-titled album well, despite never having owned it. i listened to it last night — what a gem.
his death saddens me greatly. now i wish i had gone to see amy grant last weekend in st. louis. it was probably will's last performance.
R.I.P. i wish him peace.
I have to admit that I was not familiar with Will's music, but I'm making up for that today. I'm sorry that I had to wait until he was gone to enjoy his music, but as we always say at sad times like this, the music will always be here for us to remember him by.
Wow. No words. As a fan of great music, I stumbled across Will's first release on iTunes some years ago and was floored at how wonderful it was. To this day, I play it regularly. It's a lost classic.
My heartfelt condolences to his family. His fans adored his musical genius. My entire family and young daughter love his music. He will be missed.
Very sad news. A huge talent. “Coming Up Roses” is one of my fav all-time tracks.
I am greatly saddened by this! I got the pleasure of meeting will when he played at a little bar in Columbus, Oh back in Jan. of 2004. He was such a cool cat. Laid back, down to earth. I was going through photos awhile back and found some photos of me, him and my husband. I posted them on FB a few months ago. As an aspiring muscician, my husband found comfort in Owsley's words and still believed that there was hope for every person like him. My heart is with his family in this most tragic time, and I pray that God gives his family the answers that they need to bring them some kind of peace. R.I.P Will, you were the best!
This was incredibly sad news. I had the pleasure of working with Will when he recorded “Band on the Run” for the Paul McCartney tribute I produced in 2001 – Listen To What the Man Said. I was thrilled when he decided to release it again as part of The Hard Way. Such a talented guy that definitely left his mark through his incredible music. He will be missed.
Kirk,
I heard that cover for the first time via the McCartney tribute album that
it was released on. Being a huge McCartney nut, I bought both volumes of
the tribute, and I was absolutely knocked out when I heard the version of
“Band on the Run” – it was one of those rare covers that just NAILED it, not
an easy thing to do with such a well known song like that.
If you haven't seen it yet, there's a really great Facebook group where
industry folks/friends/fans are swapping memories, stories and pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=113412215…
I really hope the world will eventually get to hear some of the unreleased
Owsley music that never made it out there. I'm grateful that Will's music
came across my desk….the two Owsley albums are never far from my reach,
and they're frequently spun.
Thanks for the comment – best regards……
This news makes me really sad. My old pal Henry Gross turned me on to Will 12 or 13 years ago when the amazing demos of the tracks that became his self titled album were circulating. Boy, was he good! I flew back to Nashville a couple of times to talk with oim about managing him. I didn't work out, but I stayed a huge fan. That album is still one of my favorite power pop records of all time, and I still listen to it a lot. Ironically enough, I was just listening to a cassette that Will had given me of two tracks that didn't make it on that album, when I heard that he had taken his life. My heart goes out to his family. RIP, Will.
Elliot, it's been interesting over the past few days to read how various people found their way to Owsley's music. Thanks for taking the time to share your story here – he certainly touched a lot of people both with his personality and his music…and often, a combination of the two. I saw something elsewhere today that he had played a bit of guitar on the forthcoming Steven Page (Barenaked Ladies) solo disc, so there is at least one way that his music will live on in the future. I really wish I would have gotten the chance to see him play live.
I got to interview Owsley when he was promoting The Hard Way, and most of the interview never wound up in print (as happens with these things; the resultant article is at http://www.prosoundnews.com/blog/28390). Given your mutual Van Halen interest, I figured you'd dig a part I didn't use where he told me about their influence on him:
“What changed my life maybe, I think it might have been either KISS 1977, and I caught Paul Stanley’s guitar pick, or seeing Eddie Van Halen for the first time in the front row of Women and Children First Tour with David Lee Roth and the whole bit. Man, that just was like – you knew at that moment: I gotta do this. This is so fuckin’ cool, I can’t even stand it, you know what I mean? Just wormed my way up. Just kept, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, until I got all the way up there. I’m just hanging over this fence and I just watched that guy and I was like oh my gosh, that is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen and I was just hooked.”
You're right – I totally geeked out reading this…thanks so much for sharing it with me!
Matt,
You've written a beautiful tribute. It's spot-on.
Thank you.
Owsley's music will endure.
Stuart
I co-wrote the song ‘The Hard Way’ with Will at a song-writing camp the first day I met him, funnily enough a song about choosing a difficult life for the greatest reward, as musicians often do. He was an amazing person; gentlemanly, funny, sincere and did absolutely the best Jeff Beck impression I ever heard. I’m devastated to read this news this morning. RIP, Will.
I will miss Bill (Will) greatly. I had the pleasure of growing up with him in Anniston Al. He was one heck of a creative person, one of a kind! Love you Bill, RIP AHS Class of 1984!!
How tragic. It has taken this long to gather my thoughts and emotions to add a comment. My wife and I had the pleasure to meet Will and here him live during Riverfest in Gadsden, Al. He was touring his debut album which we have an autographed copy. Anne, my wife knew him in high school in Anniston, Al.I was impressed with how personable Will was. He talked with us for quite a whjle before the awesome show he performed that night.
Suicide has touched me personally more times than I care to recall, I still do not
understand the total helplessness one must feel in those final moments. Forgive my soapbox, but I feel it is an extremely selfish act. His kids will always wonder why and what if. His estranged wife left to attempt to answer unanswerable questions. His parennts suffering needlessly.
RIP Will. My thoughts and prayers are wiyh all you left behind.
I'm just at a loss for words about losing Will. He played with many of my friends and I almost hired him to play guitar and do production on an album and now I really regret not getting to. Will was insanely talented and I was always unsure why he wasn't a house hold name…last time I saw him was in downtown Nashville and he was so open and friendly to me…my God's love surround and comfort his family and know that he gave so many people so much joy..we'll miss you Will.
oh man. I also found The Hard Way at the right time. The Current played 'Be With You' on the radio, I heard it on the way to Minneapolis from Rochester, and grabbed the disc at Electric Fetus. 'She's the One' rapidly outshined the radio single I'd heard.
I'd also heard and bought his self-titled disc a few years before, utterly mind-melded with the sensation depicted with such clarity in the song 'Oh no the Radio' and the rest of the album became familiar territory, regularly played on bus rides to and from work.
We'll miss you Will Owsley, and we'll keep singing your songs.
(plz delete duplicate post)
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I just watched the “Time Again” concert last night with one of my best friends. I am a total “tone freak” and was blown away by Will's tone. I'm sorry to say that I didn't know who he was watching the concert, but I was so intrigued by his sound that I started looking online today to see who he was…and then this.
I too pray that Will is at peace and he is more that a huge loss as an artist/musician..sure sounds like he made a lot of great friends through the years of playing…my prayers out to his kids …..Write with the Angels now Will….T
I just found out about this today. I got into Will's music after a very favourable review in a UK music magazine. I got his debut album in the autumn of 2002, a difficult time for me as my Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Songs like Coming Up Roses and Good Old Days somehow helped me during that time, and the old guy is still going! So sorry to hear about this and my thought are with his family and especially his two children.
I am stunned. In the midst of recording my own power pop recording, I had been listening to “Be With You” over and over because, to me, it is a perfect song. I only found out when I was checking Allmusic.com to see if Owsley had a new album out and the bio said he recently committed suicide. The music world is without one more talented but unsung artist. A beautifully written tribute, Matt. Thank you.
its such a tragedy that someone like Owsley had to die so soon. His style of music, the energy he poses while performong live on stage always inspired.me. Owsley’s music will continue to inspired me….Music lovers all over the world mourns this tragic death…
Ating Zeme, New Delhi, India.
I found your posting to be insightful! Thank you.
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