Vince Matthews and Jim Casey were two of the best and wildest songwriters to emerge during the brief, post Dylan, artistic renaissance period in Nashville, TN (it was “a little like Paris in the 1920s” according to Mickey Newbury). Their songs were recorded by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Gordon Lightfoot, and Sammi Smith, among others, and their 24 hour lifestyle was accepted and encouraged.

On Vince Matthews:

He was very different, so his songs were different. He was a free-thinker and a rebel. – Cowboy Jack Clement

He was too damned brilliant for his own good. – Merle Kilgore

I grew up with the Grand Ole Opry. I mean, we didn’t buy anything, any product, unless it was advertised on the Opry. My mother dipped Garrett Sweet Snuff. We drank American Ace coffee and wore Duckhead clothes. My grandmother went to her grave believing Hank Williams never took a drink and would fight you over it. So I’ve got a right to say anything I want about Nashville, the Opry or country music. Because I’m talking about myself. – Vince Matthews

I think “Melva’s Wine” is the greatest contemporary American folk song I’ve ever heard. – Johnny Cash