I don’t know why it is that some artists go on to have Ben Folds’ career and some artists wind up forgotten (and, in Owsley’s case, dead).

Talent plays a role, certainly, but lord knows there are enough popular and untalented (or moderately talented) artists out there to suggest it’s more than that: Attitude, connections, just plain luck.

Obviously it’s a roll of the dice for anybody seeking to make a living in the arts, and the percentage who actually break through and land a recording contract is minuscule. And in that sense, Owsley was better off than most people who started down the same path he did.

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