#14: Copperhead Road by Steve Earle

City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: February 1989
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #21
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ no Hot 100
YouTube: “Copperhead Road”
Lyrics: “Copperhead Road”

Stephen Fain Earle was born in 1955 in Ft. Monroe, Virginia. His father was an air traffic controller and the family moved to San Antonio, Texas, when Earle was a child. Earle began learning the guitar at the age of 11 and entered a school talent contest at age 13. He ran away from home at age 14 to search for his idol, singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Earle was “rebellious” as a young man and dropped out of school at the age of 16. He moved to Houston with his 19-year-old uncle, also a musician. While in Houston Earle finally met Van Zandt. Earle was opposed to the Vietnam war as he recalled in 2012: “The anti-war movement was a very personal thing for me. I didn’t finish high school, so I wasn’t a candidate for a student deferment. I was fucking going.” The end of the Selective Service Act and the draft lottery in 1973 prevented him from being drafted, but several of his friends were drafted, which he credits as the origin of his politicization. Earle also noted that when he was a young man, his girlfriend was able to get an abortion despite the fact that abortion was illegal. Her father was a doctor at the local hospital in San Antonio while several other girls he knew at the time were not able to get abortions; they lacked access to those with the necessary power to arrange an abortion, which he credits as the origin of his pro-choice views.

When he was 19 years old, Earle moved to Nashville and began playing in Guy Clark’s band. While in Nashville, Earle was appointed staff songwriter at the publishing company Sunbury Dunbar. He moved back to Texas for awhile, and returned to Nashville in the early 80s. Among the songs he wrote for another publishing company, some found their way to the recording studio on albums released by Connie Smith, Carl Perkins and Johnny Lee. He also released his first charting single on the country charts, “Nothin’ But You”, in 1983.

In 1986, his debut album, Guitar Town, topped the Top Country Album chart in Billboard Magazine. The title track, “Guitar Town”, peaked at #7 on the country charts in both the USA and Canada. A second track from the album, “Goodbye’s All We Got Left”, was also a Top Ten country hit on either sides of the border in 1987.

In 1987, Steve Earle released Exit O. It was a Top Ten album in Canada, and the single “Nowhere Road” was a #7 hit on the RPM Country chart in Canada.

“Copperhead Road” is a song about a grandson whose father and grandfather ran moonshine. Copperhead Road is a real road in East Tennessee where moonshine was made and two generations later, marijuana was grown. The song tells the story of a soldier who returns home from Vietnam, after two tours of duty, and starts trafficking marijuana from seeds he gets in Columbia and Mexico.

“Copperhead Road” peaked at #4 in Hamilton (ON), #7 in Calgary, and #21 in Vancouver (BC). Internationally, it peaked at #23 in Australia, #45 in the UK, and #10 on the Mainstream Rock Billboard chart in the USA. It finally charted on a country music chart in the USA in 2021, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales chart.

In 1989, Earle had a Top 30 country his with his cover of the 1963 Dave Dudley tune “Six Days On The Road”. His 1990 album, The Hard Way, veered more toward rock. The album climbed to #4 on the pop charts in New Zealand, and #14 in Canada.

Into the early 1990s, Steve Earle became addicted to drugs. He stopped touring in 1992 as a result of his addiction. Earle overcame his addiction to drugs in the fall of 1994, after being convicted for possession. Train A Comin’, a bluegrass and acoustic album, was released in 1995. It was nominated in the Best Contemporary Folk category at the Grammy Awards in 1996. In 1996, I Feel Alright, a roots-rock album, was released. It cracked the Top 30 on the pop album charts in New Zealand and Sweden. And in 1997, El Corazón,  peaked at #19 on the Swedish pop album charts.

In 1999, Earle released a bluegrass album titled The Mountain. It became his first entry onto the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, peaking at #19. In 2000, Earle released Transcendental Blues, which climbed to #5 on the Top Country Albums chart. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category. The title track peaked at #18 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart in the USA. While in 2002, Steve Earle released a concept album titled Jerusalem, about a post-September 11, 2001, world. The album topped the Billboard Independent Albums chart and climbed to #7 on the Top Country Albums chart.

In 2004, Steve Earle released his 11th studio album titled The Revolution Starts… Now. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. As well, Steve Earle won a Grammy Award for the recording in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category. The title track peaked at #15 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart in the USA. In 2008 Steve Earle won a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album category for his 12th studio album, Washington Square Serenade.

In 2009, Steve Earle released a tribute album to Townes Van Zandt titled Townes. The album reached #2 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart and #6 on the Top Country Albums chart. The following year, he won his third Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category.

In 2011, I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive was a Top Ten charting album in each of the Top Independent Albums, Top Country Albums and Top Rock Albums Billboard charts. While in 2013, The Low Highway, reached #4 on the Folk Album Billboard chart. Transcending musical genres, Earles’ next album, Terraplane, topped Billboard’s Top Blues Albums chart, climbed to #2 on the Folk Albums chart, peaked at #3 on both the Top Country Albums chart and Independent Albums chart, and #6 on the Top Rock Albums chart.

In 2016, Steve Earle and Shawn Colvin teamed up to release Colvin & Earle. The album reached the Top Ten on the Folk Albums chart. So You Wannabe an Outlaw (2017) and Guy (2019) both charted in the Top 5 of the Folk Albums chart, and the later peaked at #2 on the Independent Albums chart. To date, Steve Earle has released 22 studio albums, and six live albums.

Over the years, Steve Earle has performed solo concerts in Canada on 58 occasions. In addition, he has performed in concert in Canada with his backing band, The Dukes, on 113 other occasions.

July 24, 2024
Ray McGinnis

References:

CKOC 1150-AM Hamilton (ON) Top Ten | February 8, 1989