21 Facts About Richard Dobson

Richard James Joseph Dobson II was an American singer-songwriter and author.

Richard Dobson was born in Tyler, Texas, United States, and grew up in Houston and Corpus Christi.

Richard Dobson attended St Thomas High School in Houston and graduated from St Michael's in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1960.

Richard Dobson took off from school for several years and spent some time in Colombia; eventually, he returned to Houston and enrolled at the University of St Thomas, graduating with a degree in Spanish in 1966.

Richard Dobson moved to Nashville in 1971 with just a handful of songs already written.

Richard Dobson had read an article about Kris Kristofferson's success as a college-educated musician and felt inspired to follow suit.

Richard Dobson shared a house with Rodney Crowell and "Skinny" Dennis Sanchez and began to meet other songwriters, including Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, and Mickey White.

Guy Clark demoed Richard Dobson's "Baby Ride Easy" and, later, co-wrote the song "Old Friends" with Susanna Clark and Richard Dobson.

Richard Dobson later toured Jackson Hole and the Rockies with Van Zandt, White, and Rex Bell.

Richard Dobson appeared in Heartworn Highways, a documentary that featured members of the Texas music scene - some living in Nashville - including Van Zandt, Clark, Steve Earle, and Rodney Crowell.

Richard Dobson spent most of his life moving back and forth between Texas and Tennessee.

Richard Dobson worked on shrimp boats in Galveston and oil rigs in the Gulf with Rex Bell when he needed money and a break from the industry, but he kept writing and playing even when he was on the ocean.

Richard Dobson wrote the oft-recorded song "Baby Ride Easy" on a drilling rig off the shore of Louisiana before he first headed to Nashville.

When Richard Dobson was in Houston, he frequently played Anderson Fair and the Old Quarter.

Richard Dobson released his first album, In Texas Last December, in 1977 through Buttermilk Records.

From 1977 to his last album within his life in 2016, Plenty Good People, Richard Dobson released 23 albums.

Richard Dobson's songs have been recorded by famous artists such as David Allan Coe, Guy Clark, Lacy J Dalton, Nanci Griffith, and Kelly Willis.

Richard Dobson wrote an account of his years with Townes Van Zandt and others mentioned above, The Gulf Coast Boys, first published in 1990.

Richard Dobson moved to Switzerland in 1999 and lived there until his death.

Richard Dobson returned to Thomm Jutz's studio in Nashville again in 2008, for the recording of From a Distant Shore and, in 2013, for Here in the Garden.

Richard Dobson died in Diessenhofen, Switzerland, of a cancer disease on December 16,2017, aged 75.