Hardcore Troubadour: The Life and Near Death of Steve Earle [Paperback]

If Steve Earle weren't a living, breathing person, he'd be a character in a blues song -- a raucous ballad about a gifted rebel who drank too much, lost most of his women in a blizzard of crack and cocaine addiction, and always came out on the wrong side of the law. Somewhere in the midst of all this, he also managed to weld rock to country, the Beatles to Springsteen, and bluegrass to punk, establishing himself among the most thoroughly original and politically astute musicians of his generation. Granted unrestricted access to Steve and his family and friends, Lauren St John has given us a sometimes shocking, often moving, and completely unvarnished biography of one of America's most talismanic sons.

If Steve Earle weren't a living, breathing person, he'd be a character in a blues song -- a raucous ballad about a gifted rebel who drank too much, lost most of his women in a blizzard of crack and cocaine addiction, and always came out on the wrong side of the law. Somewhere in the midst of all this, he also managed to weld rock to country, the Beatles to Springsteen, and bluegrass to punk, establishing himself among the most thoroughly original and politically astute musicians of his generation. Granted unrestricted access to Steve and his family and friends, Lauren St John has given us a sometimes shocking, often moving, and completely unvarnished biography of one of America's most talismanic sons.

A sensitive and amusing book&the Earle material is particularly entertaining, confessional and full of wicked one-liners. -Sydney Morning Herald

A wonderfully spirited and sympathetic new biography...Earle is a worthy successor to the alltime greats of American music. -Howard Frank Mosher

A sympathetic look at Earle..that doesnt cover up any blemishes...an on-the-mark biography. -San Antonio Express-News

St. John does a fantastic job...Earles story is a reminder that not all addict musilc