Table of Contents
Originally Posted July 2010 Updated and Revised July 2026
2026 Update : Since I wrote this post back in 2010, a lot has changed we have iPhones, Kindles and laptops. We’re also empty nesters with two of our children in their forties and another one to reach that milestone in December. We have five grandchild. But Ray Wylie’s still singing “a enlightenment b endarkenment ” via the CD player!
Ray Wylie Hubbard was one of the musicians I discovered while digging through the bargain bins at Tunes. Along the way I also found artists like Nathan Hamilton, Max Stalling, Jimmy LaFave, and many others. Those bargain-bin discoveries became some of the best musical finds of my life, and revisiting them will be one of the ongoing themes of A Sixties-Seventies Man.
How It All Began……
So I was all ready to write a post about Ray Wylie Hubbard last night, I had given up on the Phillies and was enjoying Karin Slaughter’s new book, when the Phillies started their unbelievable comeback. Soon the game was over and Nick went to bed.O
He has been sleeping in the air conditioned back room, which meant I could not get to the computer. My wife was still on the one in the family room and I was still enjoying Broken!
Soon it was almost midnight I tried to start the post but the computer would not cooperate so I went to bed! But I was a happy camper though enjoying the first victory by the Phils after entering the 8th inning behind! Anyway here is the piece about Ray Wylie Hubbard.
Discovering Ray Wylie Hubbard
I first discovered Ray Wylie through Jerry Jeff Walker and Ray’s song “Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother” but really didn’t follow Ray’s music until he signed with Philo Records in 1997 and his music really became available.
I picked up his second Philo release Crusades of the Restless Knights and became a Ray Wylie fan. I have all of the albums he has released since with the exception of Delirium Tremolos. While I’ve only listened to it on Rhapsody my favorite album title by Ray Wylie is Lost Train of Thought
Meeting Ray Wylie and Lloyd Maines!
. I saw Ray Wylie live in either 2001 or 2002 with Slaid Cleaves and Terri Hendrix. That was a great night I bought and Ray signed a copy of Live at Ciblio Creek and I got to shake hands with a hero of mine Lloyd Maines who tours with Terri Hendrix!
Anyway I said to Ray you didn’t sing it (meaning Redneck Mother) and he chuckled and said “yeah, I know it was a family show!” His most recent album A Enlightenment, B Endarkenment, hint there is no C was a Christmas present it was pre-ordered and autographed and released in January of 2010. I listened to it several times and just couldn’t get into it. I loved the title track and a “Drunken Poet’s Dream” who wouldn’t love the lyrics
I gonna get me some mescaline,
then I’m gonna rhyme it with gasoline
a Drunken poet’s dream
The song I couldn’t get past on the album was “Wasp’s Nest” Well that one came on yesterday in a random shuffle. I listened and said “Hey that ain’t to bad!” so I took the player off of shuffle and listened to the whole album.
Overall my opinion of the album has been upgraded from ok to pretty damn good and I am not alone in my opinion. The Americana Music Association has nominated Ray for the following:
- ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- ALBUM OF THE YEAR
- A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no c) , by Ray Wylie Hubbard
- SONG OF THE YEAR
- “Drunken Poets Dream”
- Written by Hayes Carll and Ray Wylie Hubbard performed by Ray Wylie Hubbard
Links ans Listens
- Artist’s Website
- YouTube
- RWH Store
The Video
Here’s one of my favorite Ray Wylie tracks “Conversations with the Devil”. One of the great things about a live performance are the stories he tells and his great sense of humor which is evident from this clip!
And here’s “One Good Year” by Slaid Cleaves
<