“All My Ex’s” Songwriter Whitey Shafer Has Died
This story is developing.
A legend of country music songwriting, and one that put the painful experience of divorce into words and song like none other has gone to the great honky tonk in the sky. Sanger D. Shafer, known popularly as Whitey Shafer, passed away on Saturday, January 12th according to reports. A Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer, he’s known best for #1’s such as “All My Ex’s Live In Texas” and “Does Ft. Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” by George Strait, “I Wonder Do You Think Of Me” by Keith Whitley, and “That’s The Way Love Goes” co-written with Lefty Frizzell.
Born October 24th, 1934 in Whitney, Texas, Whitey Shafer grew up in a Gospel-singing family, listening to the music of Texas country artists such as Bob Wills and Earnest Tubb on the radio. Lefty Frizzell’s “If You’ve Got the Money I’ve Got the Time” especially caught his ear, but before Shafter would pursue his passion for music, he did a stint in the Army, and worked odd jobs including digging ditches and raising turkeys. Shafter wouldn’t write his first real musical composition until he was 30, but by that time he’d lived plenty of life to know what to write about.
Moving to Nashville in 1967, he first began writing for Blue Crest Music, and eventually signed recording deals with RCA Records and Musicor while working odd carpentry jobs to help pay the bills. But writing, not performing, would prove to be his primary calling, eventually signing to the prestigious Acuff-Rose publisher, and writing “Tell Me My Lying Eyes Are Wrong” with Dallas Frazier, which hit #13 on the charts for George Jones in 1970, and “Lord Is That Me” with Dallas that went hit #16 on the charts for Jack Greene.
This success would allow Whitey Shafter to write and work with one of his country music heroes, Lefty Frizzell. The two became close friends, and together they composed the legendary “I Never Go Around Mirrors” in 1974, and then “Luck Arms,” and eventually “Bandy The Rodeo Clown,” which became a Top 10 hit for Mo Bandy in 1975. Shafter also wrote songs for Connie Smith, Johnny Russell, Merle Haggard, and others. But as his songwriting career hit its second decade, it would be collaborations with “King” George Strait that would cement his songwriting legacy.
It’s said that three Whitey Shafer divorces in the early and mid 80’s helped inspire some of the decade’s greatest songs. His divorce with wife Darlene inspired the George Strait song “Does Ft. Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” in 1985. A divorce from his fourth wife Lyndia J. inspired “All My Ex’s Live In Texas” in 1987. Both songs went onto be #1 hits, and both were nominated for the CMA’s Song of the Year. “All My Ex’s” also earned Whitey Shafer a Grammy nomination. In 1989, the Shafer-penned “I Wonder Do You Think Of Me” by Keith Whitley became the Whitley’s 1st posthumous #1. Whitey Shafer would be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame that same year.
As the 90’s began, Whitey Shafer continued to write, and landed minor hits and album cuts with artists such as as John Michael Montgomery, Lee Ann Womack, Kenny Chesney, and Shawn Colvin. “All My Ex’s Live In Texas” also famously appeared in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in 2004, re-igniting interest in the song in a new generation.
Whitey Shafer wrote the heartbreak that country music became known for during one of its most timeless eras. His pain was country music’s gain. And now is death causes great pain to the fans of country music.
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More information when it becomes available.
January 13, 2019 @ 10:39 am
I wonder how many people were turned on to count music through K-ROSE.
January 14, 2019 @ 6:37 am
I grew up listening to country, but K-ROSE introduced me to Jerry Reed. “Aaaamos Moses!”
January 14, 2019 @ 7:01 am
Yeah! Here comes Aaa-mos!
January 13, 2019 @ 10:40 am
I’ll also add that you can find the Wiki page here:
https://gta.fandom.com/wiki/K-Rose
January 13, 2019 @ 10:46 am
“Just like the songs I leave behind me,
I’m gonna live forever now.”
Billy Joe Shaver
January 13, 2019 @ 12:09 pm
Trigger,please correct me if I’m wrong,but wasn’t it Whitley who had Whitey write the second verse to “I Never Go Around Mirriors”? The Lefty version only had one verse. Keith believed it needed a second.
January 13, 2019 @ 2:25 pm
I’m not really sure. Perhaps someone who does will chime in. I do know Whitley did two versions of it. Looking it up, the first was 1982, and the second 1988. It was been covered by a ton of other folks. A bona fide country classic.
January 13, 2019 @ 3:10 pm
I’ve heard a story that on the way to the recording studio, Keith stopped by Lefty’s grave and sang the song in the pouring rain…it was his way of having Lefty connected to the new verse that was added. Keith wanted it as a single…but RCA wanted something more radio-friendly…so Keith remembered another composition of Whitey’s – “I Wonder Do You Think of Me.” and he said he was going to really push RCA to record it. He never got the chance, so Lorrie Morgan really rallied for RCA to release it and it eventually became a number one after his death.
January 13, 2019 @ 4:19 pm
Fucking Fantastic! I never recognized the second verse because I knew the Whitley version first and lived with that for years and years before working my way back to Lefty’s version.
Strange that Willie only does the chorus – no verses – on his tribute To Lefty (which was the second version I ever knew).
I honestly never spent too much time with Merle’s version because it wasn’t sad enough. How can you go from Whitely’s version to Merle’s (which is more like a waltz??) So I didn’t recognize the missing verse when I came upon that version.
And honestly, I’ve only heard Lefty’s version on the radio. I’d would have loved to have lived it in chronological order though. Great story.
How this song doesn’t have a wiki page is beyond me.
January 13, 2019 @ 4:27 pm
Then there’s the whole Sad Songs & Waltzes album which included a very waltzy version (I guess recorded in 1982) without the second verse (not yet written). But that album was released in 2000.
January 13, 2019 @ 4:49 pm
Yeah, I just always thought of “I Never Go Around Mirrors” as a classic that must have hit #1 or at least been Top 5 during its era, but the best it ever did was #25 for Frizzell, which is crazy. By 1975, Frizzell was seen as past his prime by Music Row, so perhaps it wasn’t given its fair due. But clearly it resonates with artists themselves, because it’s been covered on albums a dozen or so times.
January 13, 2019 @ 5:31 pm
Maybe that’s why radio passed on Whitley’s version in 88/89 despite the great story. Stacking these all up tonight … Whitley’s version is the best.
January 27, 2019 @ 12:52 pm
It’s a toss up for me between Whitley’s version and Singletarys. They are the top two versions.
January 14, 2019 @ 7:22 pm
“By 1975, Frizzell WAS SEEN AS past his prime by Music Row”??
Yeah, like Willie Mays “was seen as” past his prime when he played for the Mets.
“I Never Go Around Mirrors” was Lefty’s first top-Thirty hit in nine years, so it was recognized as something special.
Lefty died in the summer of ’75.
January 14, 2019 @ 8:32 pm
From someone in the know…
Whitley recorded his first version on the JD Crowe and The New South record titled
“Somewhere Between”. It only had the one original verse … there was not a second verse, yet.
When Whitley wanted to cut it on the RCA record, the label (RCA) said it needed another verse.
Keith went to Whitey and asked him to write a second verse. Whitey being a fan of Keith’s, he told Keith he would try but, it would be hard to do.
Yes, Keith did stop by Lefty’s grave and sing the second verse on the way to the studio to record it.
As far as “ I Wonder Do You Think Of Me” being the single … what better song could a label put out after an artist’s passing? The title alone does the job.
FYI … Keith recorded “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” before Strait.
Don Grant produced it and a few other sides for RCA and the label PASSED on the Gant sides and told them that the song would only work in Texas. So, Whitey & his publisher got a copy of Keith’s version and it was sent to Strait and then Strait recorded it. If you can get a copy of Keith’s version …listen to the vocal and then listen to Strait’s vocal. You’ll hear Strait doing his BEST Whitley impersonation.
January 13, 2019 @ 6:32 pm
Too bad you can’t speak unless your can use the F bomb first? Poor choice of words for a sad time.
January 13, 2019 @ 6:57 pm
https://www.sciencealert.com/swearing-is-a-sign-of-more-intelligence-not-less-say-scientists
January 13, 2019 @ 10:57 pm
Keith also stated that Mirrors is the definitive honky tonk song and that would be the song he would use to introduce someone to traditional country music.
January 17, 2019 @ 10:13 pm
Whitley’s vocals in his Don’t Close Your Eyes version of Mirrors were just stunning. I mean taking the time to listen closely to how each word was sang—it was unbelievable. Just amazing. I believe I read somewhere that there was a haunting feeling in the studio when it was recorded due to how it was sang with such emotion.
And I Wonder Do You Think Of Me matched it. Amazing lyrics & amazing vocals. Whitey & Whitley, what a combination. I was a kid when that song was released & made me fall in love with traditional country music.
January 13, 2019 @ 2:12 pm
Whitey Whitley
January 13, 2019 @ 4:49 pm
Whitey, from Whitney, who wrote for Whitley.
January 13, 2019 @ 5:01 pm
These are the folks who devote their lives writing the soundtrack to ours .
God bless Mr. Shafer . God bless them all .
January 14, 2019 @ 6:56 am
Great Great singer/songwriter. RIP
January 14, 2019 @ 11:52 am
Imo, Mirrors and That’s The Way Love Goes are epic examples of pure stone cold country. For me both songs are in my top 10 of all time greatest country songs ever. If Whitey had never written those Strait hit’s he would still be one of the greatest songwriters ever. This guy is truly a songwriters songwriter in every sense.
January 14, 2019 @ 2:31 pm
And another good one gone… Country needs its songwriters.
Who’s gonna fill their shoes?
January 14, 2019 @ 7:04 pm
I’ve wondered for a long time about “Bandy the Rodeo Clown.” Did Whitey Shafer and Lefty Frizzell write that song specifically for Moe Bandy?
Or did Frizzell record the song himself as “Lefty the Rodeo Clown” and it just didn’t make the albums that he issued around that time.
And was it offered as “Conway the Rodeo Clown” or “Charley the Rodeo Clown” or “Gilley the Rodeo Clown” to the top stars of the day and was Moe just the first one to grab it?
My guess is that it’s the latter.
January 15, 2019 @ 6:06 am
Interesting question. The way the song is written, pertaining to rhyme structure, it would be difficult to make it a universal, anybody-can-record-it song, due to the fact that the character’s name “Bandy” is used throughout the song to rhyme with “handy,” “dandy,” etc. I would be interested in finding out if the song was written expressly for Moe Bandy, or if it was a made up fictional character such as “Randy the Rodeo Clown,” and Moe found and adapted it. Who knows?
January 23, 2019 @ 8:16 pm
I don’t know if ” I love you darling number four” was ever recorded, but had one of the best country lines ever. One was kind, two was untrue, three was crazy and hard, but the tire tracks from their uhaul trucks are mending nicely in my yard
March 14, 2021 @ 6:56 pm
I have been searching for a recording of this song for years or the lyrics. My late sister gave me a homemade cassette with this song on it when I married my present husband of 29 years as I became his fourth wife. She thought it was hilarious, and I did too. Good memories but now the tape is lost. So if there is anyone out there who has a recording of any type of this song or the lyrics, please reply. Thanks!
March 15, 2021 @ 7:19 am
I have a recording of him singing this on Austin City Limits on VHS. Problem is it is somewhere in my storage building in Austin. I will try and find it when I get back there. I need to transfer it from VHS to DVD.
It may take some time.
March 15, 2021 @ 2:13 pm
Wow! Thanks, Earl! That would be awesome! I would be happy to pay any costs incurred and you for your time. My sister died in 2006, and I have so regretted not keeping up with that tape better since then.