“Colorado, everywhere I go I’m in your shadow.”
Inspiration could strike at any time and about anything for country-folk singer-songwriter Chuck Pyle, who died near his home in Palmer Lake last Friday at the age of 70.
For Pyle, songs sprang out from under the stars, in conversation with policemen, or the small towns of the high plains. No matter when it hit, he was prepared.
“He was so committed to the craft of writing,” said longtime friend and former bandmate Jim Ratts. “We’d be eating or traveling or in a hotel room, but he always had a pad on him to write his letters, poems, memories and songs.”
Colorado in particular was a wellspring of inspiration. “Over the San Luis” and “Mile High Feeling” were just two of his many songs that ascribed an otherworldly ecstasy to life in the Centennial State. Though it was his adopted home state — he was born and raised in Iowa — Pyle became so associated with the area that PBS tapped him to write the theme song to its series “Spirit of Colorado.”
His passion for his craft birthed 13 solo albums over the course of a 45-year career.
“It’s a real loss to Colorado and our music community in particular,” said Harry Tuft, founder of the Denver Folklore Center. “He had a wonderful way of capturing the majesty of the mountains.”
In his life and in his work, Pyle was curious. He was interested in anything and everything, from the mundane to the metaphysical.
Pyle was a product of the “cosmic cowboy” scene that sprang out of Austin in the early 1970s that mixed the aesthetic of the American West with new-age philosophy. Pyle meditated frequently, and was flush with Taoist maxims, the most famous of which being, “Life is short, but wide.” His spiritual slant garnered him the nickname “Zen Cowboy.”
Despite the larger-than-life title, Pyle was humble.
“He could make you feel like you were the most important person in any room,” said Chuck’s son, Keegan Pyle. Whether you were family, friend or fan “he’d ask you question after question about what you’re interested in and what’s going on in your life.”
“He was always on the road, playing all over the U.S., and he kept doing that until last Friday night,” said lifelong friend Richard Dean.
Pyle had several gigs planned in 2016. His family and friends are planning a tribute concert with artists Pyle collaborated with over the years. It’s tentatively set for early February.
A celebration of Chuck Pyle’s life will be held Nov. 14 in Palmer Lake. For more information, visit .
