Song of the Day 8/14: Nanci Griffith, “Tecumseh Valley”

Nanci Griffith was an accomplished singer and songwriter who broke through after moving from her native Austin to Nashville in 1985, but her greatest acclaim came with her Grammy-winning 1993 album “Other Voices, Other Rooms,” covering other singer-songwriters who, like her, worked musical territory between folk and country that produced a literate hybrid we now call Americana or roots music.

How good was she? Townes Van Zandt said her cover of this song was “the best cover of any of my songs — ever.” The video is from the Austin City Limits tribute to Van Zandt in 1997.

As a performer, “Lone Star State of Mind” was her highest-charting song — it reached No. 36 on the country charts in 1987. Ironically, she had a tetchy relationship with her native state, particularly its journalists, some of whom thought her innocence and sensitivity were all for show.

On the other hand, Ireland embraced her wholeheartedly when she released her version of Julie Gold’s “From a Distance” in 1987. Gold had written the song two years earlier and couldn’t get anyone to record it. Griffith’s version topped the Irish charts, three years before Bette Midler had an international hit with it.