Piece Description

Jason Wilber interviews Steve Earle about his early influences in music, his songwriting, and struggles as a working musician. In the strictest sense, Steve Earle isn't a country artist, he's a roots rocker. Earle emerged in the mid-'80s, after Bruce Springsteen had popularized populist rock & roll and Dwight Yoakam had kick-started the neo-traditionalist movement in country music. At first, Earle appeared to be more toward the rock side than country. He played stripped-down neo-rockabilly that occasionally verged on outlaw country. His unwillingness to conform to the rules of Nashville or to rock & roll meant that he never broke through into the mainstream. Instead, he cultivated a dedicated cult following, drawing from both the country and rock audiences. Toward the early '90s, his career was thrown off track by personal problems and substance abuse, but in the mid-'90s he re-emerged stronger and healthier, producing two of his most critically acclaimed albums ever.

This program is "Evergreen" and not date specific.

Musical selections include: Ben McCulloch, Rich Man's War, I'm Looking Through You, Steve's Hammer, Lungs, Guitar Town, The Mountain, White Freightliner Blues, Tom Aymes Prayer, Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold, To Live is  to Fly

For more information, visit In Search of a Song.com