Rodney Crowell

Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music.

He is considered to be part of both the alternative country and the mainstream country music camps. He was influenced by songwriters Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. Crowell played guitar and sang for three years in Emmylou Harris' "Hot Band".

Early Life

Crowell was born August 7, 1950 in Houston, Texas to James Walter Crowell and Addie Cauzette Willoughby. He had come from a musical family, with one grandfather being a church choir leader and the other a bluegrass banjo player. His grandmother played guitar and his father sang semi-professionally at bars and Honky tonks. At age 11, he starting playing drums in his father's band. In his teen years, he played in various garage rock bands in Houston performing hits of the day mixed with a few country numbersAnon. "Sounding Board (Rodney Crowell)." Spirit Lake Beacon 28 Sep 1978: 15-TV.

1972 - 1986: Early Career

In August 1972 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee in search of a musical career and got a job as a songwriter after being discovered by Jerry Reed. He later met and befriended fellow songwriter, Guy Clark, who became a major influence on his songwriting and vice versaRutkoski, Rex. "Crowell Makes it in Recording Field." News Record [Warrendale, PA] 1 Jul 1980: B-6. While there, he said, "I got a real cold splash in the face of what real songwriting is about. I started filling my mind with as many symbols and images as I could. I started reading. I got real hungry to have something to contribute"Campbell, Mary. "Singer has adjusted to his wife's greater success." The Intelligencer [Doylestown, PA] 17 Jul 1988: C-2. Emmylou Harris had recorded some of Crowell's songs and made a request to meet him. After visiting her home in Washington D.C. she offered him a position playing rhythm guitar in her backing band, The Hot Band and later followed her to Los AngelesAP. "Rodney Crowell is a Nashville newcomer with solid background." The Galveston Daily News 19 Sep 1989: 9-A.

Crowell at the Grammy Awards

In 1977 as a side project he formed his own musical group, The Cherry Bombs, together with Vince Gill, Tony Brown and othersInductees, Music City Walk of Fame. One year later, he signed a solo deal with Warner Bros. Records and in late 1978, released his debut album, Ain't Living Long Like This.

His debut album, as well his following two albums, But What Will the Neighbors Think and Rodney Crowell, were not commercially successful despite garnering a huge cult following. Crowell himself criticized his debut album for not translating the Clarity and energy he felt he had captured in the studio onto vinyl. In 1981, he left Warner Bros.' roster, putting his career on hold to produce several of his wife Rosanne Cash's albums.

1986 - 1995: Columbia Records and Mainstream Success

After producing Rosanne Cash's highly successful Rhythm & Romance, Crowell signed to Columbia Records in 1986. His first album for that label Street Language was co-produced with Booker T. Jones and featured a blend of Soul and country music. The album, however, failed to produce any chart activity.

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 & Dirt, produced five consecutive 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" (a cover of Buck Owens' 1962 hit). 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 hit-radio country music faded, he continued his prolific songwriting. After 1992's Life Is Messy, he left Columbia Records and signed to MCA Records where he released two more albums.

2001 - Present

In 2001, after a brief hiatus from recording, he released The Houston Kid on Sugar Hill Records, his first studio album since 1995's Jewel of the South. 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. Crowell followed up this effort with Fate's Right Hand in 2003 and The Outsider in 2005, both of which came out on Columbia Nashville, a division of Sony Music. Leading critics and Crowell consider these three albums his finest work as a solo artist.

2004 saw the release of The Notorious Cherry Bombs, a reunion of Crowell's 1970s road band, including Vince Gill and Tony Brown. 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.

In 2008 CMT announced that Crowell's next album, Sex and Gasoline, would come out on Yep Roc Records, ending his relationship with Sony Music. This marked the first time Crowell did not produce his CD. The album was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album.CMT : News : Rodney Crowell's New Album Coming in September

In 2009, Crowell wrote Wynonna Judd's title track to her album, Sing: Chapter 1, which also was released in 2009. The song was given several electronic dance music remixes, and sent to dance radio as Judd's second release from the album. In August 2009, the single reached #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

In 2010 Chely Wright will release her seventh studio album on Vanguard Records. The album titled Lifted off the Ground is produced by Crowell. Wright also made a cameo appearance in Crowell's 2008 music video Sex and Gasoline.

Personal Life

He was married to Rosanne Cash (daughter of Johnny Cash), from 1979 to 1992 and they had a great influence on each other's careers with Rodney producing most of her albums during that period and her success influencing his songwriting. They collaborated on a number of duets, including 1988's "It's Such a Small World." Although Crowell and Cash are now divorced, they remain on friendly terms, performing together occasionally. Crowell and Cash had three daughters, Caitlin, Chelsea, and Carrie, and raised Hannah, Rodney's daughter from a previous marriage. He married Claudia Church in 1998.