Stacey Earle

by Jason AnkenyThe younger sister of country renegade Steve Earle and a gifted singer/songwriter in her own right, Stacey Earle was born and raised in San Antonio, TX; she began playing music at 15, picking up a guitar Steve left behind at the familys home, but after marrying two years later and giving birth to her first child she seemed fated to a domestic life far removed from show business. In 1990 Earle divorced her husband and moved with her kids to Nashville, where they took up residence in Steves home; after he heard her singing in the kitchen, she was recruited to lend backing vocals to his 1991 LP The Hard Way. A world tour followed, and Earle soon began writing her own songs; she became a fixture at writers showcases across Nashville, eventually agreeing to host a weekly showcase of her own at Jacks Guitar Bar. There she met another aspiring singer/songwriter, Mark Stuart, whom she married in 1994; Stuart later joined Steves band the Dukes, appearing in Staceys group the Jewels (named in honor of her grandmother) as well. After signing with the Nashville publishing company Ten Ten Music Group, Earle garnered attention when her song For Years was recorded by Sammy Kershaw on his 1996 LP Politics, Religion and Her; when no record deals were forthcoming, however, she instead released her superb debut Simple Gearle on her own Gearle Records label in 1998. Dancin With Them That Brung Me followed two years later. A follow up with husband Mark Stuart, Never Gonna Let You Go, appeared in June and captured Earles most dynamic work yet.