Rodney Crowell

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Rodney J. Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is a country music singer/songwriter.

Crowell was born in Houston, Texas to James Walter Crowell and Addie Cauzette Willoughby. He is considered to be part of both the alternative country and the mainstream country music camps^{[citation needed]}. He is a contemporary of Steve Earle and, like Earle, was also influenced by the songwriting greats Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. Rodney played guitar and sang for three years in Emmylou Harris' "Hot Band".

He was married to Rosanne Cash (daughter of Johnny Cash), from 1979 to 1992 and had a great influence on her career, producing most of her albums during that period. They collaborated on a number of duets, including 1988's "It's Such a Small World." Though Crowell and Cash are now divorced, they remain on friendly terms, performing together occasionally. Six years after the breakdown of his marriage to Cash, he married Claudia Church.

Although best known as a songwriter and alternative country artist, Crowell enjoyed mainstream popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s. His critically acclaimed album, 1988's Diamonds and Dirt, produced five No. 1 hits during a 17-month span in 1988 and 1989: "It's Such a Small World" (a duet with Cash), "I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried," "She's Crazy for Leaving," "After All This Time" and "Above and Beyond." His follow-up album, 1989's "Keys to the Highway," produced two top 5 hits in 1990, which were "Many a Long and Lonesome Highway" and "If Looks Could Kill."

As Crowell's popularity in mainstream country faded, he continued his prolific songwriting. In 2001, he released The Houston Kid on Sugar Hill Records. Many songs on the album were semi-autobiographical, and the album included a duet with Crowell's ex father-in-law Johnny Cash on "I Walk the Line (Revisited)". Initially, Cash was annoyed at Crowell changing the tune to his song, but he came to like the finished product.^{[citation needed]} Crowell followed up this effort with Fate's Right Hand in 2003 and The Outsider in 2005. Crowell considers these three albums his finest work as a solo artist.

2004 saw the release of The Notorious Cherry Bombs, a reunion of The Cherry Bombs, a group that existed briefly in the 1970s which included Crowell, Vince Gill, Tony Brown and others. The future Keith Urban hit, "Making Memories of Us," was included on this disc. In 2005, Crowell served as producer for established Irish singer/songwriter Kieran Goss on the album Blue Sky Sunrise.

[edit] Notable Songs Written By Crowell

• "Heartbroke" (a minor hit for Crowell in 1980; a numner 1 hit for Ricky Skaggs in the early 1980s; also recorded by George Strait
• "Home Sweet Home Revisited" (recorded by J.D. Crowe and the New South, 1975)
• "Please Remember Me" (a hit for Tim McGraw)
• "Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight" (a hit for the Oak Ridge Boys)
• "Shame On The Moon" (a hit for Bob Seger)
• "Ain't Living Long Like This" (a hit for Waylon Jennings)
• "Hate Everything About U" (collaboration with Steve Lukather, on Lukather's "Luke" album from 1997)
• "Voila, An American Dream" (a hit for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
• "Ashes By Now" (a hit for Lee Ann Womack)
• "'Til I Gain Control Again" (a hit for Crystal Gayle in the 1980s)
• "She's Crazy for Leaving"
• "After All This Time"
• "Lovin' All Night" (a Top 10 for Crowell in 1992 and a hit for Patty Loveless)
• "It's Such a Small World" (a duet with Rosanne Cash)
• "I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried" (1988)
• "Many a Long and Lonesome Highway"
• "If Looks Could Kill"
• "What Kind of Love"
• "I Walk the Line (Revisited)" (duet with Johnny Cash)
• "Making Memories of Us" (a hit for Keith Urban)

[edit] Discography

• Ain't Living Long Like This, 1978.
• But What Will the Neighbors Think, 1980.
• Rodney Crowell, 1981.
• Street Language, 1986.
• Diamonds & Dirt, 1988.
• Keys to the Highway, 1989.
• The Rodney Crowell Collection, 1989.
• Life is Messy, 1992.
• Greatest Hits, 1993.
• Soul Searchin', 1994.
• Let the Picture Paint Itself, 1994.
• Super Hits, 1995.
• Jewel of the South, 1995.
• The Cicadas, 1997.
• The Houston Kid, 2001.
• Fate's Right Hand, 2003.
• The Notorious Cherry Bombs, 2004.
• The Outsider,2005.

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• Rodney Crowell's latest bio, news, photo galleries, and Fan Q&A at Great American Country
• A brief biography