One of the greatest singer songwriters of the past four decades Earle ran away from home aged 14 to find his guitar hero Townes Van Zandt. He found him ten years later. He straddles the same no man’s land between rock and country/folk as Bob Dylan, and while Earle’s music remains recognisably country, he shares the same lyrical genius as Dylan. His high-water mark was his 1988 release ‘Copperhead Road’ which Earle described as the world’s first marriage of bluegrass and heavy metal. Married seven times (twice to the same woman) Earle’s personal life has not been an easy road. He has overcome addiction to cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to a year in jail for possession in 1994. Clean now for more than 20 years Earle remains active musically and politically.