Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

. Crowell has had five number one singles on

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. He has also written songs and produced for other artists. He was influenced by songwriters

Guy Clark Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet ...

and

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

. Crowell played guitar and sang for three years in Emmylou Harris' Hot Band. He has won two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in his career, one in 1990 for

Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter. There ha ...

for the song " After All This Time" and one in 2014

Best Americana Album The Grammy Award for Best Americana Album is an honor presented to recording artists for quality albums in the Americana music genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors ...

for his album ''

Old Yellow Moon ''Old Yellow Moon'' is a collaborative album by American country music singer-songerwriters Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, released on February 26, 2013 in the United States by Nonesuch Records. It is the twenty-seventh and fourteenth studio ...

''.

Early life

Crowell was born on August 7, 1950, in Houston, Texas, to James Walter Crowell and Addie Cauzette Willoughby He came from a musical family, with one grandfather being a

church choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

leader and the other a bluegrass banjo player. His grandmother played guitar and his father sang semi-professionally at bars and

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ( tack piano) ...

s. At age 11, he started playing drums in his father's band. In his teen years, he played in various garage rock bands in Houston, performing hits of the day mixed with a few country numbers."Sounding Board (Rodney Crowell)", ''Spirit Lake Beacon'', September 28, 1978, p. 15-TV

Career

1972–1986: Early career

In August 1972 he moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, in search of a musical career and got a job as a songwriter after being discovered by

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

. He later met and befriended fellow songwriter

, who became a major influence on his songwriting and vice versa.Rutkoski, Rex. "Crowell Makes it in Recording Field." ''News Record'' (Warrendale, PA) July 1, 1980: B-6 While there, he said, "I got a real cold splash in the face of what real songwriting is about. I started filling my mind with as many symbols and images as I could. I started reading. I got real hungry to have something to contribute".Campbell, Mary. "Singer has adjusted to his wife's greater success." ''

The Intelligencer (Doylestown, Pennsylvania) ''The Intelligencer'' is a daily (except Saturday) morning broadsheet newspaper published in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. The newspaper serves central and northern Bucks County as well as adjacent areas of eastern Montgomery County. It is owned by ...

'' July 17, 1988: C-2 Emmylou Harris had recorded one of Crowell's songs, "Bluebird Wine", on her ''

Pieces of the Sky ''Pieces of the Sky'' is the second studio album and major-label debut by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released on February 7, 1975, through Reprise Records. Although she had released the obscure folk-styled '' Gliding Bird'' fi ...

'' album and made a request to meet him. After he sat in with Emmylou at her gig at the

Armadillo World Headquarters Armadillo World Headquarters (The 'Dillo or Armadillo WHQ) was an influential Texas music hall and beer garden in Austin at 525 Barton Springs Road – at South First Street – just south of the Colorado River and downtown Austin. The 'Dillo fl ...

in early January 1975, she asked him to play rhythm guitar in her backing band, The Hot Band. He accepted and left the following day to join Emmylou in Los Angeles."Rodney Crowell is a Nashville newcomer with solid background." ''

The Galveston Daily News ''The Daily News'', formerly the ''Galveston County Daily News'' and ''Galveston Daily News'', is a newspaper published in Galveston, Texas, United States. It was first published April 11, 1842, making it the oldest newspaper in the U.S. state o ...

'' September 19, 1989: 9-A Rodney Crowell Grammy Awards - back stage during telecast - February, 1990 cropped

In 1977 as a side project, he formed a musical group, The Cherry Bombs, together with

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

, Tony Brown and others. One year later, he signed a solo deal with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

and in late 1978, released his debut album, '' Ain't Living Long Like This''. His debut album, as well as his following two albums, ''

But What Will the Neighbors Think ''But What Will the Neighbors Think'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Rodney Crowell. It was released in 1980 (see 1980 in country music) by Warner Bros. Records. It reached #64 on the Top Country Albums chart and #1 ...

'' and ''

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

'', were not commercially successful despite garnering a huge cult following. Crowell himself criticized his debut album for not translating onto vinyl the same clarity and energy he felt in the studio. His single "Ashes by Now" from "But What Will the Neighbors Think" reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980. Though he had already several country hits by artists covering his songs (including "

I Ain't Living Long Like This "I Ain't Living Long Like This" is a song written by Rodney Crowell that was first recorded by Gary Stewart on his 1977 album ''Your Place or Mine'' (with Rodney Crowell and Nicolette Larson on backing vocals). Emmylou Harris then recorded the s ...

" by

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

, " Leaving Louisiana..." by the Oak Ridge Boys, and several covers by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

, Emmylou Harris,

and others), Crowell got his first big taste of pop songwriting success with " Shame on the Moon". "Shame on the Moon" was recorded on the 1982 album '' The Distance'' by

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don H ...

joined Seger on background harmony on the song. Appealing to a broad cross-section of listeners, the song spent four weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, topped the adult contemporary chart, and placed in the Top 15 of the country chart in early 1983. The song's dark, poetic and hypnotic style helped boost Crowell's cult status. The album ''

'' was released in 1981 (see 1981 in country music) by Warner Bros. Records and was his last album on that label before switching to Columbia. The first album Crowell produced by himself, it reached No. 47 on the Top Country Albums chart and No. 105 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. The songs "Stars on the Water" and "Victim or a Fool" were released as singles. "Stars on the Water" reached No. 30 on the Hot Country Songs chart, Crowell's highest charting song up to that point. It peaked at No. 21 on the Canadian country charts. "Victim or a Fool" reached No. 34 in the U.S. In 1981, Crowell put his career on hold to produce several of his wife Rosanne Cash's albums. In 1983, Crystal Gayle had a number one country single with his song " 'Til I Gain Control Again" from her first Elektra album, '' True Love''. The song was first recorded in 1975 by Emmylou Harris and appeared on ''

Elite Hotel ''Elite Hotel'' is the third studio album by American country music artist Emmylou Harris, released in 1975. ''Elite Hotel'' was Harris' second album to be released in 1975, preceded by the widely acclaimed ''Pieces of the Sky''. ''Elite Hotel'' s ...

'' that year. In 1984, Crowell returned to working on his own music career and recorded what was to be a new album for Warner Bros., ''Street Language''. That album, a pop-sounding effort co–produced by David Malloy, was rejected by Warner Bros, and was rejected by the label and never released. Warner Bros. requested a more Nashville-friendly record, but Crowell negotiated a release from his contract and moved to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

1986–1995: Columbia Records and mainstream success

After producing Rosanne Cash's '' Rhythm & Romance'', Crowell signed to

in 1986. His first album for that label was reworked '' Street Language'', co-produced with

Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...

and featuring a blend of soul and country music. The album did not chart. 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 & Dirt'' produced five consecutive No. 1 singles 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 Leavin'," " After All This Time" and " Above and Beyond" (a cover of

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on ...

' 1962 hit). Crowell's "After All This Time" won the 1990

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

. 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." After 1992's ''

Life Is Messy ''Life Is Messy'' is the seventh studio album by American country music artist Rodney Crowell, released in 1992 by Columbia Records. It peaked at number 30 on the Top Country Albums chart. The songs, " Lovin' All Night", " What Kind of Love", "It ...

'', he left Columbia Records and signed to

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

where he released two more albums — '' Let the Picture Paint Itself'' and '' Jewel of the South''.

2001–2010: Songwriting success, critical acclaim

Crowell continued to enjoy success as a songwriter in the 1990s and 2000s. Crowell's songs that reached to Top Ten in the country charts in the decade included "

Song for the Life "Song for the Life" is a song written by American singer Rodney Crowell and originally recorded by The Seldom Scene. Crowell recorded the song in 1978 on his debut album ''Ain't Living Long Like This'', and since then, the song has been covered by ...

" by

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

, "

Making Memories of Us "Making Memories of Us" is a song written by American country music artist Rodney Crowell that has been recorded by several artists. The first version was recorded by American country music artist Tracy Byrd on his 2003 album '' The Truth About Me ...

" by

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

, "

Ashes by Now "Ashes by Now" is a song written by Rodney Crowell. It has since been recorded several by times by various musical artists in the country music format. The song was first recorded by Crowell himself, eventually releasing it as a single in 1980. ...

" by

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack Liddell (; born August 19, 1966) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Her 2000 single, " I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and the Top 15 ...

, and " Please Remember Me" by

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

. In 2001, after a brief hiatus from recording, Crowell released '' The Houston Kid'' on Sugar Hill Records, his first studio album since 1995's '' Jewel of the South''. Many songs on the album were semi-autobiographical, and the album included a duet Crowell had recorded and released as a single in 1998 with his ex father-in-law

, " I Walk the Line Revisited". Crowell followed up this effort with ''

Fate's Right Hand ''Fate's Right Hand'' is the eleventh studio album by American country music singer Rodney Crowell. It was released on July 29, 2003 via Epic Records. The album includes Crowell's last charting single, "Earthbound", which spent one week at the n ...

'' in 2003 and '' The Outsider'' in 2005, both of which appeared on

Columbia Nashville Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the Amer ...

, a division of

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

. Leading critics and Crowell consider these three albums his finest work as a solo artist. Rodney Crowell was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003 with fellow inductees Hal Blair, Paul Overstreet and

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

. 2004 saw the release of ''

The Notorious Cherry Bombs The Notorious Cherry Bombs, originally called The Cherry Bombs, was an American country music supergroup founded by singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell in 1980. A former member of Emmylou Harris's Hot Band, Crowell picked several former Hot Band membe ...

'', a reunion of Crowell's 1970s road band, including

and Tony Brown. The future

hit "

" was included on this disc. In 2005, Crowell served as producer for established Irish singer-songwriter

Kieran Goss Kieran Goss is a contemporary singer-songwriter. Biography Kieran Goss was born and raised in Mayobridge, County Down, Northern Ireland. Goss recorded his first album, ''Brand New Star'', in 1989. It contained the songs "Brand New Star" and ...

on the album "Blue Sky Sunrise". In 2007, Rodney Crowell was inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame. Crowell released his next album, '' Sex & Gasoline'', on

Yep Roc Records Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Nick Lowe, Paul W ...

in 2008, ending his relationship with Sony Music. The album received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nomination for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album. Crowell figures prominently in musician-neuroscientist Daniel Levitin's book ''The World in Six Songs'' for which he was interviewed, and three Crowell songs, "Shame On The Moon," "I Know Love Is All I Need" and "I Walk the Line (Revisited)" are featured in the book. In 2009, Crowell wrote

Wynonna Judd Wynonna Ellen Judd or simply Wynonna ( ; born Christina Claire Ciminella; May 30, 1964) is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country singers. In all, she has had 19 No. 1 singles, incl ...

's title track to her album '' Sing: Chapter 1'', which also was released in 2009. The song was given several electronic dance music remixes, and sent to dance radio as Judd's second release from the album. In August 2009, the single reached No. 4 on the U.S. '' Billboard''

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart. Crowell produced

Chely Wright Chely Wright (born Richell Rene Wright; October 25, 1970) is an American activist, author and country music artist. She initially rose to fame as a commercial country recording artist with several charting singles, including the number one hit ...

's 2009 album, ''Lifted Off the Ground''. Wright also made a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

in Crowell's 2008 music video for his single "Sex and Gasoline".

2011–present

Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random ...

published Crowell's memoir, ''Chinaberry Sidewalks'', in 2011. "Chinaberry Sidewalks" focuses primarily on Crowell's relationship with his parents’ marriage and his own early years growing up in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas. In 2012,

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

released ''KIN: Songs by Rodney Crowell and

Mary Karr Mary Karr (born January 16, 1955) is an American poet, essayist and memoirist from East Texas. She is widely noted for her 1995 bestselling memoir ''The Liars' Club''. Karr is the Jesse Truesdell Peck Professor of English Literature at Syracus ...

''. Karr wrote the lyrics and Crowell set them to music. KIN was Karr's first foray into songwriting. Crowell performed four tracks on the album; one as a duet with

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

. A variety of other artists recorded the other songs on the album, including

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and '' Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...

and Emmylou Harris. On February 26, 2013, Crowell and Emmylou Harris released ''

'' on Harris' longtime label

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, No ...

. The album reached Number 4 on '' Billboard''s Country albums chart and Number 29 on the Billboard Hot 200 charts. In 2013, the album won the Americana Music Awards' Album of the Year award and Crowell and Harris were named group/duo of the year. On January 26, 2014, Crowell won his second Grammy Award when ''Old Yellow Moon'' won the Grammy for Best Americana Album. On May 11, 2015, Crowell and Emmylou Harris released ''The Traveling Kind'' on Nonesuch Records. Crowell released his first album on

New West Records New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Athens, Georgia. It had offices in Burbank, California, and Beverly Hills, California. The label was established in 1998 by Cameron Strang "for artists who perform real music ...

, '' Tarpaper Sky'', on April 15, 2014. Crowell co-produced the record with his long-time collaborator,

Steuart Smith Steuart Smith (born 24 June 1952) is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, writer and producer from Arlington, Virginia, United States. He is a touring member of the American rock band Eagles, where he has performed as one of ...

. In the fall of 2014, Crowell was hired as music director for the Hank Williams biopic '' I Saw the Light''. In 2015, Crowell provided background vocals on "It Doesn't Hurt Right Now", a song he co-wrote with Jewel for her album '' Picking Up the Pieces'' as well as on "Holy War", a track which appears on '' I Am the Rain'', a 2016 album by

. On December 20, 2016, Crowell released a music video for the song "It Ain't Over Yet", which features guest vocals from

and

John Paul White John Paul White (born August 4, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter, and was a member of the Grammy Award-winning duo The Civil Wars. He restarted his solo career with his 2016 release, ''Beulah''. Early life White was born in Muscle Shoals ...

as well as harmonia from

Mickey Raphael Michael Siegfried "Mickey" Raphael (born November 7, 1951) is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973. He has performed or rec ...

. The song appears on his album ''Close Ties'', which was released in 2017. The album also features a duet with

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

titled "I'm Tied To Ya". In 2019, Crowell received the Poet's Award from the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...

for his achievements in songwriting. He also released a collaborative album, titled ''TEXAS'' on August 15, 2019.

Awards and nominations

Americana Music Honors & Awards The Americana Music Honors & Awards is the marquee event for the Americana Music Association. Beginning in 2002, the Americana Music Association honors distinguished members of the music community. Six member-voted awards and several Lifetime Ac ...

Academy of Country Music Awards The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academy ...

ASCAP Country Music Awards

Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...

Personal life

In 1975, Crowell married his Nashville girlfriend Martha Dant Watts, and their daughter Hannah was born in May 1976. The brief marriage ended in divorce, with Crowell retaining custody of Hannah. Crowell was subsequently married to

(daughter of

) from 1979 to 1992 and they had an influence on each other's careers, with Crowell producing most of her albums during that period and her success influencing his songwriting. They collaborated on a number of duets, including 1988's "It's Such a Small World." Although Crowell and Cash are now divorced, they remain on friendly terms, performing together occasionally. Crowell and Cash have three daughters, Caitlin (b. 1980), Chelsea (b. 1982), and Carrie (b. 1988). Crowell married

Claudia Church Claudia Lorraine Church (born January 12, 1962) is an American country music singer-songwriter whose singles include "What's the Matter With You Baby" and "Home in My Heart (North Carolina)". Biography Church was the second daughter of Claude a ...

in 1998; they live south of Nashville.

Discography

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowell, Rodney 1950 births Living people Musicians from Houston American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American country record producers Grammy Award winners The Notorious Cherry Bombs members Columbia Records artists Singer-songwriters from Texas People from Crosby, Texas Country musicians from Texas Record producers from Texas Stony Plain Records artists Yep Roc Records artists Epic Records artists Sugar Hill Records artists MCA Records artists Warner Records artists Cash–Carter family