Don Schlitz’s Widow Reveals the Shocking Way She Got Steve Earle to Perform a Tribute to Her Late Husband (Exclusive)

Don Schlitz’s widow knew exactly how to approach Steve Earle with a big ask. Ahead of the Nashville Songwriter Awards, American Songwriter spoke to his widow, Stacey Schlitz, who revealed how she asked Earle to perform a tribute to the late songwriter at the event.

“I really wanted Steve to be a part of this. He and Don came to Nashville at about the same time. They were kind of part of the same class,” she said. “I’m like, ‘How am I going to get him to do this?’ I have Don’s phone, so I called him on Don’s phone. I was like, ‘If you get a call from Don Schlitz, you better answer.’”

When the phone rang and the caller ID showed the late Schiltz’s name, Earle told American Songwriter that “it freaked me out.”

“Look, I’m old enough that there’s some people that are no longer with us that are still on my phone. I never have the heart to take them out,” he said. “That’s the first time one of them has actually rung, and so it did freak me out a little bit.”

Steve Earle Remembers Don Schiltz

Despite being a bit unsettled by the call, it was an easy decision for Earle to sing “The Gambler.” It was a special night, as the track was given the Legendary Song Award.

“How am I supposed to say no to that?” Earle quipped. “We kind of got here at the same time and came up together. We were all really, really jealous because the first song he ever got recorded was ‘The Gambler.’ It was a really, really big deal. It’s still a big deal.”

Earle went on to recall one time he watched Schiltz perform the song as the entire crowd sang along with every word.

“He came off one night. I’m standing on the side of the stage, and he goes, ‘How did this happen?’” Earle remembered. “We were the hippies. We couldn’t have gotten into Pancake Pantry because our hair was too long, and we’re members of the Grand Ole Opry now?”

Steve Earle Reflects on Don Schiltz’s “The Gambler”

To Earle the song has an everlasting quality because “it’s a story that’s sort of universal.”

“It’s not really about gambling,” he said. “It’s just about life. All that advice that’s given out could be applied to almost anything.”

Schiltz’s widow likewise marveled over the success of “The Gambler.”

“I think back then somebody said, ‘You might make $10,000 on this song.’ It’s kind of funny to think of it nowadays, because the song is still being sung. It’s still a favorite,” she said. “It’s on the news all the time, it’s on financial news. Venture capitalists use that song, politicians. It’s just really a part of the American Songbook.”

As for how Schiltz would feel about the honor, Earle guessed that his late friend “would be proud,” while his widow had a different answer.

“He would be embarrassed, because he was such a humble person and had such a good heart,” she said. “He never wanted his family to think of him as the award-winning songwriter; he just wanted to be husband and dad.”

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