Rodney Crowell - Rotten Tomatoes Celebrity Profile

Biography

This page uses content from the Rodney Crowell biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

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. 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 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 Rosanne 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)". He 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 with Rodney 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.

Notable Songs Written By Crowell

"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)
"Heart Broke" (a hit for Ricky Skaggs)
"Ain't Living Long Like This" (a hit for Waylon Jennings)
"Voila, An American Dream" (a hit for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
"Ashes By Now" (a hit-to-be for Lee Ann Womack)
"'Til I Gain Control Again" (a hit-to-be for Crystal Gayle)
"She's Crazy for Leaving"
"After All This Time"
"Lovin' All Night" (a hit-to-be for Patty Loveless)
"It's Such a Small World" (a duet with Rosanne Cash)
"I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried"
"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)

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.

External links

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