Dead Man's Shoes (04:14)

Contact Info:

Reception:
gezaxrecords@gmail.com
310-800-2516

President:
Geza X
geza.gezaxrecords@gmail.com
310-428-9081

Band Contact:
Spencer Thornton
hm: 323-662-4201
cel: 213-500-1934
4435 Vantage Ave.
Studio City, CA 91604

Songwriter: Spencer Thornton
Publishing & PRO: Melrose Hillbilly Music, BMI


DEAD MAN’S SHOES

My Granddad, Garrett “Red” Thornton Sr. was born in Palmetto, GA in 1901 and lived to be 100. He was married to my grandmother “Dell” for over 65 years, till she passed. He truly was a “one woman guy” but a “clothes ****” deep at heart. He never gave anything away nor threw anything out. When the time came to retire a reliable old outfit, he simply shuffled up the attic stairs and deposited it in his 3rd story private museum. ­

Since I was a teen, (and usually with his permission) I religiously raided that magical attic for those starched cotton vintage shirts, formal dinner jackets, hand painted silk ties, Stetson hats and the two-toned wing-tipped shoes that he had so carefully put into “storage.” 50 years later, I still wear a great many of them.

Granddad lived through a handful of wars, saw the coming of air travel, space flight and the internet… he traversed across all 50 states and 30 some-odd countries, many times all by himself. And oh my, if those clothes could talk… the stories they would tell.

This song was inspired by his spirit and style that bleeds through our family tree. So yeah, it’s a wee bit personal and heartfelt. And on certain nights after we play Dead Man’s Shoes, that energy, love and heartache that drip from those stories stays with me long after we leave the stage.