On this day (March 5) in 1986, Steve Earle released his debut album Guitar Town. The album featured 10 tracks written or co-written by Earle. As a result, it introduced him to the country music world as both a singer and songwriter. It would be the most successful album of his long and storied career.
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Earle has released more than 20 studio albums throughout his career in various styles. He has recorded country, roots rock, bluegrass, and folk albums. In recent years, he has recorded albums of cover songs from his friends and influences–Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Townes Van Zandt. While he is highly regarded by fans of the genre, his chart success has been limited over the years. Guitar Town was his only release to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. His 2002 album Jerusalem brought Earle his second career No. 1 when it topped the Independent Albums chart.
[RELATED: Why Steve Earle Named His Late Son After Townes Van Zandt]
Steve Earle Reflects on His Early Days in Nashville
In an interview with In the Studio, Steve Earle reflected on his early days in Nashville and his country music career.
“When I first started getting played on country radio, everybody acted like I had sprung full-grown from the brow of Jimmy Bowen,” Earle recalled, naming the head of MCA Records Nashville. “They always talked about me and Dwight Yoakam and Randy Travis in the same breath. If anything, I’m a straggler from what was going on in Austin and Nashville in the mid-’70s,” he added.
“I had good teachers–Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker, and B.W. Stevenson. It was all about singer/songwriters. And when I first got to Nashville, on any given night you could go to Guy’s house, or John Lomax used to do parties at his house. They’d have everybody from the street level where I was to Mickey Newbury and Neil Young, with the guitar going around. So, it was a good place to learn,” he added.
Earle Was Shocked by His Success
Unfortunately, Earle learned that Nashville was no place for a singer/songwriter like him. “They had a singer/songwriter and his name was Hank Williams and they decided that they never wanted that to happen again,” Earle said. “I knew that, trust me. I was Guy Clark’s protege and bass player. People like me and Guy and Steve Young and Lee Clayton, and even Kris Kristofferson before me, we didn’t think we were going to be big country stars,” he explained. “Nobody was more surprised than I was when I had a No. 1 country album. I had been in Nashville 13 years. I had been passed on by every record label in the business. I was on my third publishing deal and wasn’t getting my songs covered. I have the dubious distinction of writing the first Johnny Lee record that didn’t go to No. 1,” he added.
Featured Image by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
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