Título: Townes Van Zandt
Seção: Biography
Background: John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 - January 1, 1997), better known as Townes Van Zandt, was an American singer-songwriter. He is widely held in high regard for his poetic, often heroically sad songs. In 1983, six years after Emmylou Harris had first popularized it, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covered his song "Pancho and Lefty", reaching number one on the Billboard country music chart. Much of his life was spent touring various dive bars, often living in cheap motel rooms and backwoods cabins.

Conteúdo: Born in Fort Worth into a wealthy family, Van Zandt was a third-great-grandson of Isaac Van Zandt (a prominent leader of the Republic of Texas) and a second great-nephew of Khleber Miller Van Zandt (a major in the Confederate army and one of the founders of Fort Worth). Van Zandt County in east Texas was named after his family in 1848.  Townes's parents were Harris Williams Van Zandt (1913-1966) and Dorothy Townes (1919-1983). He had two siblings, Bill and Donna. Harris was a corporate lawyer, and his career required the family to move several times during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1952, the family transplanted from Fort Worth to Midland, Texas, for six months before moving to Billings, Montana.  At Christmas in 1956, Townes's father gave him a guitar, which he practiced while wandering the countryside. He would later tell an interviewer that "watching Elvis Presley's October 28, 1956, performance on The Ed Sullivan Show was the starting point for me becoming a guitar player... I just thought that Elvis had all the money in the world, all the Cadillacs and all the girls, and all he did was play the guitar and sing. That made a big impression on me." In 1958 the family moved to Boulder, Colorado. Van Zandt would remember his time in Colorado fondly and would often visit it as an adult. He would later refer to Colorado in "My Proud Mountains", "Colorado Girl", and "Snowin' on Raton". Townes was a good student and active in team sports. In grade school, he received a high IQ score

user: What year did Townes Van Zandt was born?

assistant: CANNOTANSWER

user: What school he went to?

assistant: he willingly decided to attend the Shattuck School, in Faribault, Minnesota.

user: Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?

assistant: In the spring of his second year, his parents flew to Boulder to bring Townes back to Houston, apparently worried about his binge drinking and episodes of depression.

user: Did he had any problems?

assistant: They admitted him to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he was diagnosed with manic depression.

user: Did it came severe over time?

assistant: Soon after he attempted to join the Air Force, but was rejected because of a doctor's diagnosis that labelled him "an acute manic-depressive who has made minimal adjustments to life".

user: Did he get depressed more on what happen to the military?

assistant: He quit school around 1967, having been inspired by his singer-songwriter heroes to pursue a career in playing music.

user: What songs did he make?

assistant: CANNOTANSWER

user: What career did he took after his failings in life?

assistant: pursue a career in playing music.