Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle (born January 17, 1955) is an American
rock,
country and
folk singer-songwriter, record producer, author and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first
EP in 1982. His breakthrough album was the 1986 album
Guitar Town. Since then Earle has released 15 other studio albums and received three
Grammy awards. His songs have been recorded by
Johnny Cash,
Waylon Jennings,
Travis Tritt,
Vince Gill,
Patty Loveless,
Shawn Colvin and
Emmylou Harris. He has appeared in film and television, and has written a novel, a play, and a book of short stories.