This is the 49th post in our Musician of the Day series.
Stephen "Steve" Fain Earle was born in 1955 in Virginia.
Steve dropped out of school in the 9th grade so that he could go to Houston and learn more about the music business. He gradually began to build a reputation as a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee when he met Guy Clark. Clark helped Steve get his start as a songwriter in a division of RCA called Sunbury Dunbar.
In 1981, Steve wrote his first top ten hit When You Fall in Love which was recorded by Johnny Lee.
In 1986, Steve earned another form of success with the release of his debut album Guitar Town, which was certified gold. He released more albums after this but in 1993 he ended up in jail on drug related charges. He kicked his addiction while behind bars and when he returned to the music scene in 1994, his music was better than ever.
Steve even created his own label which finally allowed him to experiment with a wide range of music, from bluegrass to hard rock.
Today Steve continues to tour doing over 200 shows a year and he makes waves both with his music and with his strong political views. Many of his songs express his views with three of them about abolishing the death penalty.
His latest album Washington Square Serenade was released in 2007, and there is little doubt that more are on the way.
To learn more about Steve Earle visit his official site.
