Another tormented genius who died at the age of  52 on January 1, 1997 after almost a life-time in rehab, Townes Van Zandt appears in this interview about how he wrote If I Needed You, another of my all-time favorites.  He does sing the song in the end.  He didn't tell my favorite story about that song, so I'll tell it.  Emmy Lou Harris, and some guy (can't remember who) recorded that song, and sang the lyric "Who could ill agree she's a sight to see." The lyric is "Loop and Lil agree she's a sight to see." Loop and Lil were his parakeets.  

Townes loved a joke, and he always wanted to tell jokes when he was on stage.  So, he'd go around to all his friends in the room before his set, and have them (us) tell him a joke, so he could tell them while he was on stage.  We all worked really hard to have a good joke for Townes whenever he was in town.  

As you will see in the interview, because of his substance habits, he really couldn't tell jokes, but we all laughed anyway.  He also wrote Poncho and Lefty, and White Freightliner (another one of my favorites - his ode to cocaine).  You've heard his songs in a lot of places.  He was more widely known in Canada than in the States.  Imagine my surprise walking in a mall in Calgary, and hearing Townes and Willie Nelson singing Poncho and Lefty.  Guy Clark, for obvious reasons (after watching this interview), did a tribute album to Townes after his death.  It includes a lot of different artists doing Townes' music.  I can't listen to it without having a sob fest.  I really miss him.