Multi-talented Steve Earle was born on a military base in Hampton, Virginia in 1955. He dropped out of school in the 9th grade to pursue a career in music, then moved to Nashville in 1975 and worked as a staff writer for RCA Records. His own debut album, Guitar Town, was not released until 1986, earning Grammy nominations for Best Country Male Vocalist and Best Country Song for the title track. Earle followed that up with two Grammy nominations for the album Exit 0 in 1988.
Earle documented his long struggle with drug addiction in his biography, Hardcore Troubadour: The Life and Near Death of Steve Earle. He began using heroin when he was 13 and spent the 1990s, as he has famously referred to it, "vacationing in the ghetto." He was regularly seen drunk or high on cocaine around Nashville. His money spent on drugs or alcohol and no longer fit to perform, Earle borrowed money from friends or pawned his guitars to feed his habit. Finally, in 1994, he was sentenced to prison and a stay in rehab after failing to appear for a court date. By January 1995, Earle was sober and released his comeback album, Train A Comin', which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1996.
His first Grammy came in 2005 for Best Contemporary Folk Album for The Revolution Starts…Now. Earle is well known for his liberal political views and this album stirred up some controversy for its anti-Iraq War leanings. The title track was used as the theme song to Earle's radio show on Air America, which was on the air from August 2004 through June 2007. He said in 2007 that part of the reason he moved to Greenwich Village in New York was he was "tired of being behind enemy lines" in Nashville, where he had lived for over 30 years.
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