Song:Copperhead Road
Album:The Collection
For most of his career, Steve Earle has transcended the traditional country music market. He's had a lot of success in the rock market. Copperhead Road is one of his early classics and one of his signature songs. He was born Jan. 17, 1955 in Fort Monroe, VA where his father was working as an air traffic controller. His family moved to Texas and Earle grew up in San Antonio. He learned to play guitar and he ran away from home at age 14 to travel around Texas with his hero and main influence Townes Van Zandt. Earle moved to Nashville in 1974 and played with Guy Clark. For the next few years Earle was a staff songwriter at a publishing company. After a couple of his songs were recorded, Earle got a record deal with Epic. He recorded an album but it was never released. So he left Epic and signed with MCA Records and producer Tony Brown. His debut album Guitar Town was released in 1986 and the single was a top ten country hit. Copperhead Road was released in 1988. The album was a big success. It was certified 3XPlatinum. That's because it crossed over to rock. The song Copperhead Road and the video is about moonshine runners. While this was happening, Earle was addicted to drugs and this led to MCA not renewing his contract in 1992. This budget comp covers his MCA recordings. Earle recorded three albums for Warner Bros. in the 90s. They weren't as successful as his earlier albums. He recorded for his own label for several years. Today he's back with Warner Bros. His latest CD So You Wannabe An Outlaw was released last year. Earle is currently on tour probably performing new anti-Trump songs. He has always expressed his political beliefs in his music. Here's the video for Copperhead Road by Steve Earle.
That song is a guilty favorite of mine. Growing up I knew a friend who did just that. Made Moonshine and sold it. He was a wild person and lived outside the law which, sadly for him caught up to him.
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