Musician
Steve Earle, who met him in 1978 and considered Van Zandt a
mentor, once called Van Zandt "the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that."
[61][63] The quote was printed on a sticker featured on the packing of
At My Window, much to Van Zandt's displeasure.
[64] In the years following, the quote was often cited by the press, much to Van Zandt and Earle's embarrassment;
[65] in 2009, Earle told the
New York Times, "Did I ever believe that Townes was better than Bob Dylan? No."
[65] But he later concluded at the end of the same article that, "As a songwriter, you won’t find anybody better." Earle has championed the songwriter on a number of occasions: his eldest son,
Justin Townes Earle, also a musician, is named after Van Zandt;
[65] Earle wrote the song "Fort Worth Blues" as a tribute to the singer in the late 1990s,
[65] and in 2009 released an album titled
Townes, which featured all covers of Van Zandt songs.
[65]