Aggies are fortunate to call singer, songwriter and actor Lyle Lovett their own because he stays true to his roots to call Aggieland his own, and lacks said ruthless, shallow characteristics of so many celebrities to boot.
It’s no wonder that the Association of Former Students wanted Lovett to come back to his alma mater to help celebrate its 125th anniversary tonight at Rudder Auditorium at 7 p.m.
“The Association becomes the way you stay in touch,” Lovett said. “It’s really true – ‘once an Aggie, always an Aggie.’ You really still feel like you’re a part of the University.”
Lovett, Class of 1979, graduated from A&M with bachelors degrees in journalism and German before exploring Europe and peddling his music in Nashville. Today, he has four Grammy awards under his belt, and his newest release, “My Baby Don’t Tolerate,” has him on the course to winning more.
“(The album is) really just some more of my songs,” said the soft-spoken singer from his home in Spring, Texas. “I’ve been lucky enough to record mostly songs I write; I can follow my own musical tastes.”
As an underclassman living in Utay Hall (known to present-day cadets as “Dorm 12” – in 1975, dorms 10 and 12 were designated for non-reg use), Lovett was active in the University as well as the local music scene. A news writer for The Battalion and a member of Town Hall, he developed a deep appreciation for the school that helped shape him.
“The best way to say it, I think, is that being at A&M always felt like being at home to me,” Lovett said.
Lovett’s musical background included instruction on the guitar, piano and saxophone. At A&M, he played at many local venues, including one not normally known for live music.
“Mr. Gatti’s, over next to the IHOP across from campus in those days, had live music four nights a week,” Lovett said. “Grin’s, on College Main right past the city limits, was a place that brought in a lot of regional and national acts.”
The local music scene, which at the time drew a lot of inspiration from the outlaw country scene fronted by pantheon singers like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and David Allen Coe, kept Lovett as busy as he wanted to be.
“The important thing about being at A&M was that I worked consistently,” Lovett said. “I was always glad to have a gig and get paid $40 to $50 a night.”
Since his 1986 solo debut, Lovett has done his alma mater proud. Every country fan who knows about Lovett knows where he went to school. He speaks with nothing but the highest praise for A&M, even though it’s a much different place than it was 25 years ago.
“When you’re in school you hear a lot of rhetoric about the ‘Aggie family,’ and it’s true,” Lovett said. “Everywhere we go, I always meet an Aggie. They’ve been incredibly supportive of me, and it really does feel good.”