Wes Freed, renowned and beloved artist behind the Drive-By Truckers catalog, has passed away at the age of 58. Throughout the history of rock & roll there have been a few cases where an act has been so closely identified with their unique and consistently-themed album artwork. Molly Hatchet, Iron Maiden, and Yes all come to mind, and I know there are a few more, but it’s a rare thing to see a band stick with an artists the way DBT has with Wes Freed.

Wes was a Virginia native, playing in heavy and alt-country bands and painting scenes of long gone honky-tonk singers intermingled and intertwined with southern landscapes, themes, and situations. His medium was usually a mixture of pencil, marker, watercolor, and acrylic. His first work for the Truckers was Southern Rock Opera, their masterpiece about a southern rock band called Betamax Guillotine, loosely based on the story of Lynyrd Skynyrd. “Check this out.” my buddy Tommy said as he handed me the CD case in the cab of his Makita work truck in the fall of 2001. He’d read about it somewhere and procured a copy from the band, long before it was re-released on Lost Highway Records. That moment - as “Days of Graduation” kicked into “Ronnie and Neil” - changed my life, and I’ll never forget holding that CD in my hands and looking at that painting while he explained the concept of the record to me.

Though his work with DBT is certainly his most celebrated (he once said it’s about 98% of the traffic to his website), he kept busy working with other bands too. He did the cover for Cracker’s Gentleman’s Blues and show posters and album covers for other bands. He also dabbled in acting and never stopped making music.

We’ve got several Wes Freed paintings on the walls of our house. While my significant other is adamant that our living room not be decorated like a dorm room, she’s found a way to co-exist with Lemmy and a half-exposed, fully naked brunette holding the Ace of Spades. She was horrified (and ultimately laughing) when halfway through a recent conference call she noticed that Lemmy and his friend were clearly visible over her left shoulder for the other attendees to see.

Gram Parsons at Joshua Tree, and Lemmy and a friend in his living room, and ours

“*Rock And Roll Means Well*” tour - First Avenue, Minneapolis, November 15, 2008

I never met him in person, but we exchanged e-mails a few times, usually around my search for one of his prints. “Do you have any more of that Gram Parsons left? I can’t believe I missed it!” Wes came back like an old friend “I think I got one or two laying around, buddy, give me a day to see if I can dig one up.”

Moreso than most any band I’ve ever followed, the Drive-By Truckers are a family. That’s not just the people on the stage; but their crew, their friends and extended families, and even their fans. Wes and his wife Jyl, who passed away in 2017, were a big part of that family. I’m sure the Truckers will persevere, but it will never be quite the same without Wes Freed.

Wes Freed Website (with a great and insightful foreword by Patterson Hood).

Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
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