(LOOTPRESS) – Known as much for his outspoken persona as for his enduring work on classic songs like “Copperhead Road” and “Guitar Town,” singer/songwriter Steve Earle has attained great success in the field of music over the decades, and has even branched out into the respective worlds of acting and novel-writing.
In spite of decades of success in the business – including multiple Grammy wins along with various other accolades – Earle has always strived to maintain an “everyman” approach to the craft of songwriting, insisting that audiences are actually listening to hear themselves. This holds true in particular for listeners in more rural areas, Earle says.
“People don’t care about what happened to me,” he asserts. They care about what happened to them, and that’s where the songs come from that connect with people in that part of the country.”
LOOTPRESS was able to chat briefly with the legendary artist last year just before he would partake in Public Theater NY’s final performance of Coal Country, a drama based on the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster which claimed the lives of 29 or the 31 miners present at the site.
Earle himself was even responsible for assembling the accompanying soundtrack album for the production. The result was a ten-track collection detailing the trials faced by mining families throughout the Mountain State. The concept album would be called, Ghosts of West Virginia.
“I just think it’s what I grew up with,” the musician says of his approach to songwriting. Number one: I had great teachers as far as being a songwriter. I met Townes Van Zandt when I was 17 years old; I met Guy Clark after that, and Jerry Jeff Walker after that.”
Earle has honored each of these mentors in recent years by releasing full-length albums made up of songs by each musician. He would also touch on ways in which his childhood would influence his approach to the craft.
“I always mention to people that my dad and my uncle were songwriters. They were great storytellers and the Texas narrative is [that] telling stories firsthand is just part of it, it’s kind of the way that I write songs,” he says.
Relocating a number of times as a child due to the nature of his father’s profession, Earle would become accustomed to life in rural areas, following his father’s lead in embracing the lifestyle which has influenced countless songs in the world of country music over the decades.
“My dad’s from a little town of about 10,000 people in Northeast Texas called Jacksonville. I grew up all over the place because my dad was an air traffic controller and they transferred us around. He was always comfortable in places that were more of a small-town setting.”
Earle’s debut album, Guitar Town, saw release in 1986, and would familiarize listeners across the country with his unique brand of storytelling and character work. The iconic singer treated LOOTPRESS to the origins behind some of these beloved tunes, as well as that of the title track for the follow-up album, Copperhead Road.
“Copperhead Road” is a big deal, because people actually have somebody in their family that had to find an alternative way to make a living at some point,” he says matter-of-factly.
“Hillbilly Highway,” that’s the history of a lot of families. “Someday” on my first album is about a kid that I saw – I was stopping for gas in the middle of the night outside of Jackson, Tennessee. We had to honk the horn three times to get him out from under his own Chevelle that he was working on.
We’ve seen the last of that – of family-owned gas stations. All that stuff sits with you,” he states, reiterating that it is ultimately the connection felt between the artist and listener which is responsible for the resonance of the work.
“It’s your story, but finding the way that it relates to other people is what makes other people care about it,” he explains. “This job that I do is about empathy.”
Learn more about Steve Earle’s work in Coal Country here and visit the Steve Earle website to stay up to date on the latest from the songwriting legend.