In some circles, I’m known as a cowboy poet, and when people hear that they often ask, “Do you know Baxter Black? Ever been on a show with him?”
Yes, to both, but that doesn’t make me a celebrity. Baxter knew a ton of people and I don’t think he ever forgot a face. In the early1990s I was backstage at Elko, Nevada, preparing to recite. Baxter walked up, shook my hand, and introduced himself. Not that it was necessary. Everyone knew who Baxter was. We chatted a few minutes, and then he left. Baxter wasn’t on that set, and everyone else who was had been around Elko a lot. Apparently, he came backstage for the express purpose of saying hi. I think he probably made it a point to introduce himself to any newcomers.
It must have been five years or more later, when we were both on a program at Chadron. I was sure he wouldn’t have remembered me, but Baxter came up and greeted me by name.
Over the years, our trails crossed now and then, and he always remembered me. And it wasn’t just performers he recalled. One of my sons, who used to be a brand inspector, met Baxter somewhere along the feed lot trail. He says years later they happened to be at the same gathering, and Baxter said, “Hello Martin.”
The hallmark of a good entertainer is that they make it look easy, and Baxter did. Any illusions about the easy part were blasted at my first time at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko. It was 1991, and I was standing with Tom McBeth, a poet friend from Kansas. We were about to perform in a session together, and Tom said, “Time to get nervous.” Tom had a fair amount of experience under his belt, so I replied that he surely must be kidding. “No,” he said. “I was backstage in the big auditorium a while ago, and Baxter Black and Wally McRae were pacing back and forth practicing their lines. You never get over it.”
But in answer to your question, I never knew Bax well. If you want more information about the man, go ask Dr. Jim Furman and his family, who were his close friends.
Here’s what I can tell you. Baxter worked hard at his craft. He loved people. He loved telling stories, and making people laugh. But he wrote a fair amount of serious poetry that he didn’t often recite because folks expected him to be funny. Get some of his books and read that side of him. It’ll make you think deeply about the cowboy life. And it’ll probably make you tear up.
Here’s the other thing I can tell you about Baxter. He was one of a kind, and you don’t have to be someone whom he called by name to miss him.