Steve Earle - Biography

Last Editor: jimwilliams9				Steve Earle Biography -   Name : Steve Earle Profession : Singer Birth Details : born January 17, 1955

Steve Earle Trivia -

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Steve Earle Detailed Biography -

Steve Earle (born January 17, 1955) is a singer-songwriter. Although best known for his country music, he is also a published writer, a keen political activist and has also written and directed a play. In his early career he was seen as a saviour of country music, and labelled the 'New Bruce Springsteen' (even though he's only 6 years younger), although he never quite achieved that level of commercial success. Stephen Fain Earle was born on January 17, 1955 at Ft. Monroe in Hampton, Virginia. Legend has it that a box of Texas dirt, sent by his grandfather, was brought into the delivery room, so that it could be said that Earle was born 'on Texas soil'. Medical records, eye-witnesses, and surveillance all prove this to be untrue. He was the eldest son of Jack, an air traffic controller, and Barbara Earle. Although his parents moved around the US a lot during his childhood, he spent several of his formative years in Schertz, Texas. He dropped out of school in 8th grade to move to Houston, Texas and learn more about the music business. One summer evening after seeing a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert, Earle got in backstage and was given the advice of his life. A story that Earle repeats to this day, is that: "(Ronnie) VanZant, took his necklace off and put around my neck and said, 'Boy, if you work hard enough and believe in yourself, then you too can become a rockstar someday". This advice was something that would turn out to be true as Steve released his first album, Guitar Town in 1986. His sister, Stacey Earle, is a musician herself, having toured with Steve in the 1990s and singing on the song When I Fall on Steve's 2000 album Transcendental Blues. Earle has been married seven times, including twice to the same woman. His wives were Sandra (Sandy) Henderson, Cynthia Dunn, Carol Hunter (with whom he had his first child, Justin), Lou-Anne Gill (with whom he had a second son, Ian), Maria Teresa Ensenat, Lou-Anne Gill a second time, and finally in 2005, singer-songwriter Allison Moorer. He also has a daughter born out of wedlock. While in Texas in the early 1970s, Steve Earle met Townes Van Zandt (who became a mentor) and other artists such as Jerry Jeff Walker, Lucinda Williams, and Nanci Griffith. In 1975 he moved to Nashville where he met and worked with fellow Texans Guy Clark and his wife Susanna Clark. Guy was instrumental in Steve being employed as a songwriter by the Sunburry Dunbar publishing division of RCA. Steve did backing vocals on Guy's "Desperados Waiting For A Train" together with Emmylou Harris on Guy's first album Old No 1. Despite his early success as a songwriter, it was not until 1981 that he achieved a top ten cut with "When You Fall in Love" recorded by Johnny Lee. His early work as a recorded performer in his own right concentrated on the rockabilly style, which was popular at the time (and can be heard on the 'Early Years' album). He had to wait until 1986, though, before his first proper album, Guitar Town, was released. It was a critical success and sold over 300,000 copies. The follow-up albums Exit O and Copperhead Road built on this success. Steve had been a drug user since an early age, and was addicted to heroin for many years. By the time of his 1990 album The Hard Way, it started to become clear that the drugs were seriously affecting him. In 1993, his increasing drug problems resulted in him effectively stopping performing and recording for 2 years, a period he refers to as his 'vacation in the ghetto'. He eventually ended up in jail on drug and firearms charges. Kicking the drug habit whilst in jail, Earle came out a new man and released two albums within 18 months of his release in late 1994. His comeback album (the acoustic Train A Comin') was nominated for the "Best Contemporary Folk Album" Grammy Award in 1996. Steve's "second, post-jail, musical career" has been noticeably more diverse musically than his early material. Since setting up his own record label, he has been able to follow his own artistic direction rather than being constrained by the Nashville country pop-rock sound, and for the first time has found himself with complete artistic control over his albums. This has led to experimentation with a range of styles from country and bluegrass to folk and hard rock. He has maintained a strict work ethic, and avoided any temptation to return to drug use. Several albums have been released since, as has a book of haiku and a collection of short stories called 'Doghouse Roses'. He also wrote and directed a play about the death penalty. Earle also tours often, playing over 200 shows in most years. His concerts tend to be either solo acoustic shows, or ensemble affairs with one of his two backing bands, the Dukes and the Bluegrass Dukes. Steve is the subject of a documentary film entitled Just an American Boy, directed by Amos Poe, which explores his political views as well as his music. In 2005 he caused consternation among his fans by allowing the song "The Revolution Starts Now" to be used by General Motors in a TV advertisement for pick-up trucks.