Steve Earle Books,

Steve Earle TShirTS, Steve Earle PosTerS

The Devils Right Hand

'So then i went and bought myself a Colt 45

Called a Peacemaker, but I never knew why.

Never knew why, I didn't understand

Mama said the pistol is the Devil's right hand.'

Steve Earle

Stop the NRA

and then

Add your picture to the Million Faces petition for tougher arms controls

Steve Earle (born Stephen Fain Earle January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, well known for his rock and country music, as well as for his political views. Steve Earle is also a published writer and a political activist. Steve Earle has written and directed a play. In his early career, Steve Earle was seen as a saviour of country music and labeled by some as the "new Bruce Springsteen". In the later part of his career, after troubles with the law and drug addiction and due to his uncompromising viewpoints, Steve Earle has become known as "the hardcore troubadour".

Stephen Fain Earle was born on January 17, 1955 at Fort 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 the first soil Earle's feet ever touched was Texas, although this is not reported by any significant source to which one could document this incident.

Steve Earle was the eldest son of Jack Earle, an air traffic controller, and Barbara Earle. Although his parents moved around the U.S. often during his childhood, Steve Earle spent several of his formative years in Schertz, Texas. Steve Earle dropped out of school in the 8th grade to move to Houston, Texas and learn more about the music business. One summer evening after seeing a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert, Steve Earle went backstage and was given the advice of his life. A story that Steve Earle repeats to this day is that "Ronnie Van Zant 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 rock star someday.'" This advice was something that would turn out to be true, as Steve Earle released his first album, Guitar Town in 1986. His sister, Stacey Earle, is a musician herself, having toured with Steve Earle in the 1990s and singing on the song "When I Fall" on Steve's 2000 album "Transcendental Blues".

Steve 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. Steve Earle also has a daughter. His first son, Justin Townes Earle, was named for Townes Van Zandt.

In 1975, Steve Earle moved to Nashville, Tennessee where Steve Earle met and worked with fellow Texans Guy Clark and his wife Susanna. Guy was instrumental in Steve Earle being employed as a songwriter by the Sunburry Dunbar publishing division of RCA. Steve did backing vocals on Guy Clark's "Desperados Waiting For A Train" together with Emmylou Harris on Clark's first album "Old No 1".

Despite Steve Earle's early success as a songwriter, it was not until 1981 that Steve Earle achieved a top ten cut with "When You Fall in Love", which was recorded by Johnny Lee.

Steve Earle's early work as a recorded performer was in the rockabilly style, and can be heard on the "Early Years" album. Steve Earle 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. Steve Earle's follow-up albums "Exit 0" and "Copperhead Road" built on this success.

Steve Earle 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, Steve Earle's drug problems resulted in him effectively stopping performing and recording for two years, a period Steve Earle refers to as his "vacation in the ghetto". Steve Earle eventually ended up in jail on drug and firearms charges. Kicking the drug habit while in jail, Steve Earle came out a new man and released two albums within 18 months of his release in late 1994. Steve Earle's comeback album, the acoustic Train A Comin', was nominated for the "Best Contemporary Folk Album" Grammy Award in 1996.

Earle's "second, post-jail musical career" has been noticeably more musically diverse than his early work. Since setting up his own record label, Steve Earle has been able to follow his own artistic direction, rather than being constrained by the Nashville country pop-rock sound. This has led Steve Earle to experimentation with a range of styles from country and bluegrass music to folk and hard rock music. Steve Earle maintained a strict work ethic. Several albums have been released since, as well as a book of haiku and a collection of short stories called Doghouse Roses. Steve Earle also wrote and directed a play about the death penalty. Steve Earle also tours often, playing over 200 shows per year. Steve Earle concerts tend to be either solo acoustic shows or ensemble affairs with one of his two backing bands, the Dukes or the Bluegrass Dukes.

Steve Earle appeared as a recovering drug addict named Walon in two episode of the first season the the HBO series "The Wire". Steve Earle addresses a 12-step-type meeting with an account of how he lost everything to addiction:"I pawned my bike, my pickup truck, a national steel guitar, lost a good wife, a bad girlfriend, and the respect of anyone who ever lent me money." Steve Earle has reprised the role occasionally in subsequent seasons.

Steve Earle 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, Steve Earle 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.

Steve Earle is also the subject of an acclaimed biography, Steve Earle: Fearless Heart, Outlaw Poet, by the noted New York-based music writer David McGee.

In 2006, several Steve Earle songs were featured in the movie Talladega Nights: "Valentine's Day", "Hard-Core Troubadour" and "I Feel Alright". In 2007, the Steve Earle song, "Someday" off his 1986 hit record, Guitar Town was featured in the movie Bridge to Terabithia.

Since early in his career, Steve Earle has been involved in a number of political causes. In his first public performances, Steve Earle was unable to play in bars due to his age, and took to playing in coffeehouses alongside anti-Vietnam War campaigners. These experiences had a strong effect on Steve Earle , who later campaigned against the war in Iraq.

Steve Earle 's mother took part in anti-death penalty vigils, a cause that has been taken up by Steve Earle. Steve Earle has worked to abolish the death penalty and has recorded several songs about this cause, including "Billy Austin", "Over Yonder (Jonathan's Song)" and "Ellis Unit One" (for the 1995 movie "Dead Man Walking"). (Ellis Unit, located in Huntsville, Texas, previously housed the Texas male death row, until it was moved to Polunsky Unit near Livingston, Texas.) Steve Earle is also a regular participant in the "Concerts for a Landmine Free World", benefiting the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation.

In recent years Steve Earle's music has been increasingly political. His 2002 album, "Jerusalem," was largely inspired by the U.S.-led War on Terrorism. This album featured Earle's "John Walker's Blues", which was about the captured American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh. The song provoked widespread outrage; many accused Steve Earle of sympathizing with terrorists since the song was written from Lindh's perspective. Steve Earle responded that he was simply empathizing with Lindh and in no way set out to glorify terrorism. The controversy raised Steve Earle's profile in the media, but did not seem to damage his record sales.

Steve Earle's 2004 album, The Revolution Starts Now, which features several songs relating to the war in Iraq, was deliberately released to coincide with the run up to the 2004 U.S. presidential election, with the aim of encouraging votes for John Kerry. Steve Earle 's contribution to the Democratic campaign was particularly notable, since country rock is traditionally associated with the right wing. It was therefore hoped that it would be more likely to convert new people to Kerry than other anti-Bush musicians (such as those involved in the Rock Against Bush movement) who might be seen as preaching to the converted, as their fan bases lay in the predominantly left-wing punk rock community. The song "The Revolution Starts Now" was used in the promotion of Michael Moore's anti-war documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11 and appears on the album Songs and Artists That Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11, the songs for which were selected by Moore. The song also opens his weekly Sunday-night show on Air America Radio.

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