Steve Earle (born January 17, 1955) is a singer-songwriter. Although best known for his country music, he is also a published writer, a keen political activist and has also written and directed a play. In his early career he was seen as a saviour of country music, and labelled the 'New Bruce Springsteen' (even though he's only 6 years younger), although he never quite achieved that level of commercial success.
Stephen Fain Earle was born on January 17, 1955 at Ft. Monroe in Hampton, Virginia. Legend has it that a box of Texas dirt, sent by his grandfather, was brought into the delivery room, so that it could be said that Earle was born 'on Texas soil'. Medical records, eye-witnesses, and surveillance all prove this to be untrue. He was the eldest son of Jack, an air traffic controller, and Barbara Earle. Although his parents moved around the US a lot during his childhood, he spent several of his formative years in Schertz, Texas. He dropped out of school in 8th grade to move to Houston, Texas and learn more about the music business. One summer evening after seeing a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert, Earle got in backstage and was given the advice of his life. A story that Earle repeats to this day, is that: "(Ronnie) VanZant, took his necklace off and put around my neck and said, 'Boy, if you work hard enough and believe in yourself, then you too can become a rockstar someday". This advice was something that would turn out to be true as Steve released his first album, Guitar Town in 1986. His sister, Stacey Earle, is a musician herself, having toured with Steve in the 1990s and singing on the song When I Fall on Steve's 2000 album Transcendental Blues.