Calvin Russell was the real deal, an authentic Texas-born cowboy whose face was a trail of hard-earned lines, proof of the rough mileage he'd put on his body in the years following his birth in 1948 in Austin. Russell found his greatest success, professionally and personally, far from home, as a good percentage of his albums were recorded in Europe. Before he turned 13, he'd discovered the guitar. Within a year, Russell was playing with an outfit called the Cavemen. Wild times during his teens landed him in prison, and even a Mexican jail, but eventually Russell began to write his songs in the Texas hill country. ~ Linda Seida