Allen Wayne Damron: 1939-2005
Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine, Winter, 2006 by Rod Kennedy
Folk singer, cowboy poet, storyteller, manager of a legendary Austin, Texas folk club, and longtime performer at the Kerrville Folk Festival, Allen Wayne Damron died Saturday, August 13, 2005, at his home in Terlingua, Texas. He was 66.
Allen was born March 1, 1939, on his family farm near Raymondville in South Texas where he spent his teenage years as a hunting guide with his father. He earned an Associate of Arts degree in Drama at Lon Morris College in East Texas and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.
Damron was general manager of my Chequered Flag folk music club in Austin in the late '60s. Many credit the club with being seminal to the "Austin Sound" that developed over the next decade. Among the featured artists playing the club were Allen himself, Carolyn Hester, Michael Martin Murphey, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Big Bill Moss, Jerry Jeff Walker, Willis Alan Ramsey and yodeling Kenneth Threadgill. In 1971, Allen managed the Rubaiyat coffee house in Dallas where the late B. W. Stevenson began his career.
While Allen was not the co-founder of the Kerrville Folk Festival (as was recently reported in other obituaries), he was one of the original 13 performers in 1972, and was an annual favorite at the festival for more than 30 years. He was also a constant campaigner for the festival on the road and served as one of the 21 advisors to the festival. He also served as a director of the non-profit Kerrville Music Foundation which, with Peter Yarrow, established the New Folk Competition for emerging songwriters. He recorded 20 albums, several of which were recorded "live" at the festival.
Allen was a popular artist on the festival's more than three-dozen road tours. As a featured artist on the 1986 Celebrate Texas Concert Tour of the United States, he was named along with Guy Clark, Bob Gibson, David Amram, Butch Hancock, Steve Gillette, Steven Fromholz and twelve other tour artists, as a "Goodwill Ambassador for Texas" by the state legislature on behalf of the Texas Sesquetennial. Late in his career, Allen became known for his storytelling at cowboy poet gatherings and was also recognized for his many years as a performer at the Texas Folklife Festival in San Antonio.
Most people will remember Allen Damron as an entertainer who was early on inspired by Pete Seeger. There are many others who remember him as a generous artist who helped open their new folk club or concert series. He will also be remembered for encouraging and helping dozens of young artists to get their careers going.
COPYRIGHT 2006 Sing Out Corporation
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group
Photo Credits: Jim Dirden
