About Tex

Texas Thomas & his Danglin’ Wranglers, artwork by Micael Priest 1989

The Rawhide Messiah?

Yes. Among other names, but Harvey goes by Grandpa mostly these days. He earned the title Rawhide Messiah during the Danglin’ Wranglers’ heyday in the ’80s-90s when they were regulars at establishments like Hut’s Hamburgers on 6th St. and the Continental Club in Austin, TX.

For other local artists, and people in the know, it was Sunday night church. Where, if you were lucky (or stayed until the 6th whiskey), you’d witness Tex – part preacher, media antagonist, and musical performer.

Growing up, Harvey’s father was an in-demand lap steel player who toured with artists like Patsy Cline. With a 60-year career of his own now, Harvey has released five albums and published one songbook, Hut’s Hymnal, which has long since been memorialized within Texas State University’s Southwestern Writers Collection.

Today, Harvey is still writing songs and hosting jam sessions at his home in Liberty Hill, Texas. As it turns out, his wife, Patti, never did kill Tex and has stuck it out for the long haul. They can be found spending their days watching their daughter and grandkids take over their multi-generational home.

The songs of this musical grandfather run around in your mind when you’re asleep…

michael corcoran
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More About Harvey “Tex Thomas” Young

As Long As You’re Not Finished: The Harvey Young Story

BY MICHAEL CORCORAN
Harvey Young, now 64, never stopped writing songs, even though his heyday in the Austin music scene was over two decades ago. He just released his first album since 1995, More Than We Was, to get down for posterity such deep and wondrous songs as “Vagabond Soul” and “Don’t Say No.” 

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On The Record: Curtis McMurtry, Harvey “Tex” Thomas Young

BY CURTIS MCMURTRY
The 1980s heyday of Tex Thomas & the Danglin’ Wranglers has long since past, but the collaborative songwriting chops of lyricist-singer Harvey Young and multi-instrumentalist Danny Levin never really subsided.

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Austin Museum of Pop Culture:
50 Over 50

SOUTHPOP.ORG
Harvey Young is an Austin, Texas-based country/R&B singer-songwriter, also known as “Tex” Thomas. Young was born in Littlefield, Texas in 1951 and moved to Austin to work as a drummer with the band Showdown.

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Media Mentions

‘Texas Music Live’ to celebrate Larry Monroe at Guero’s – Peter Blackstock, Austin American Statesmen, 2016
Music Highlights at the Texas Book Festival – Claire Burrow, 2014
Bar Trek: Chapter 4(+) – Larry Monroe
How I Spent My Summer Vacation – Lissa Hattersley
Scott Newton Photo: Harvey Young, aka Tex Thomas – Scott Newton, 2007
Tex Thomas and the Danglin’ Wranglers – Discogs
Harvey Thomas Young – Discogs
Tex Thomas & the Danglin’ Wranglers: The Rawhide Messiah – Digital Collections, Music and Entertainment History, by Nels Jacobson

Find More Music by HT Young

LiveSet: On Air – KUT, 1990
Joe Pug does Deep Dark Wells – YouTube, Michael Corcoran, 2014
Tex Thomas “Vagabond Soul” at Gueros – Youtube, rAwTime, 2015
Tex Thomas & His Danglin’ Wrangerls, Austin Blues Heritage Festival 1982 – YouTube, Austin History Center

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