Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957)

Lyle Lovett Page Lyle may refer to: People Surname * Lyle (surname) Given name * Lyle Alzado (1949–1992), American NFL All-Pro football player * Lyle Beerbohm (born 1979), professional mixed martial arts fighter * Lyle Bennett (1903–2005), head coach of ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

– Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and released 25 singles to date, including his highest entry, the number 10 chart hit on the U.S. '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart, "Cowboy Man". Lovett has won four Grammy Awards, including Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Album. His most recent album is ''12th of June'', released in 2022.

Early life

Lovett was born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, Texas, when his family lived in the nearby community of Klein. He is the son of William Pearce and Bernell Louise (née Klein) Lovett, a marketing executive and training specialist, respectively. He was raised in the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The L ...

. Lovett attended

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, where he received Bachelor of Arts degrees in both German and Journalism in 1980. In the early 1980s, Lovett often played solo acoustic sets at the small bars just off the A&M campus.

Career

Lovett began his music career as a singer-songwriter. By the early 1980s, Lovett had already distinguished himself in the burgeoning

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

folk acoustic scene. He had performed in the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 1980 and 1982."Kerrville Folk Festival Finalist History", compiled by Doug Coppock
link
) An American singer, Buffalo Wayne, whom he had met in 1978 during a college trip to Germany, invited Lovett to play with him at the 1983 Schueberfouer in Luxembourg. One of the events at the funfair was an American musical tent. The owner of that event was a fan of the

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...

, house band J. David Sloan and the Rogues. He invited the Rogues for the event, and Lovett was encouraged by band members

Ray Herndon Ray Herndon (born July 14, 1960) is an American country singer/songwriter and guitarist known mainly for playing with Lyle Lovett's Large Band and McBride & the Ride. Early life and education Ray Herndon grew up in an Arizona musical family. Hi ...

and Matt Rollings to sit in with the group, which did some of his songs. They opened his eyes to what his songs could sound like with proper backing; Lovett had never sung with a band before. Sloan and band member Billy Williams offered Lovett a deal on studio time, first day free. In 1984 Lovett took them up on the offer. After several stays in Arizona over that summer he recorded 18 songs. The demo tape of the first four songs led to his first record deal; ten of those songs, recorded with the Rogues, became Lovett's self-titled debut album. He made many longtime contacts in Arizona during that time. Several of the Rogue players, Herndon, Matt McKenzie, Rollings, and Williams, went on to play in his band. Williams produced or co-produced several of his albums from 1987 to 2007. Through them he met Francine Reed, who began recording with him in 1985 and toured with him for decades. In 2022, reliving his Phoenix connection:

It led to a demo tape, an album and now, this rolling Thanksgiving tour...It's all because of running into this band in Luxembourg. That's a long way to get to Phoenix from Texas. It's a lot shorter if you just do I–10

He signed with

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 wi ...

in 1986 and released his eponymous debut album. He sang harmony vocals on Nanci Griffith's '' The Last of the True Believers'' album (1986). While typically associated with the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

genre, Lovett's compositions often incorporate folk,

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

, blues,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and gospel music as well as more traditional country & western styling. He has won four Grammy Awards, including Best Country Album (1996 for ''The Road to Ensenada''), Best Country Duo/Group with Vocal (1994 for "Blues For Dixie" with the Texas swing group

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty albums, and has charted mor ...

), Best Pop Vocal Collaboration (1994 for " Funny How Time Slips Away" with

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

) and Best Country Male Vocal (1989 for ''Lyle Lovett and His Large Band''). In 1995, Lovett performed a duet of " You've Got a Friend in Me" with

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...

for '' Toy Story''. He plays Collings acoustic guitars. Lylelovett2-fls

Lovett has acted in a number of films, notably four for director Robert Altman: '' The Player'' (1992), '' Short Cuts'' (1993), '' Prêt-à-Porter'' (1994), and '' Cookie's Fortune'' (1999). He also composed the score for the director's '' Dr. T & the Women'' (2000). Some of his other film roles include '' Bastard Out Of Carolina'' (1996), '' The New Guy'' (2002), '' Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story'' (2007), and a humorous role in ''

Angels Sing ''Angels Sing'' is a 2012 Christmas family drama film directed by Tim McCanlies and starring Harry Connick Jr., Connie Britton, Chandler Canterbury, Fionnula Flanagan, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. It is an adaptation of Turk ...

'', a family Christmas movie (alongside fellow actors and musicians such as Harry Connick, Jr., Connie Britton,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

, and Kris Kristofferson). His television acting forays include guest roles on '' Mad About You'' and ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

'', a recurring role on ''

The Bridge The Bridge may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Art * ''The Bridge'' (sculpture), a 1997 sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, US * Die Brücke (''The Bridge''), a group of German expressionist artists * ''The Bridge'' (M. C. Escher), a lithograph ...

'' (as Flagman, a lawyer), and appearances as himself on '' Dharma & Greg'' and '' Brothers & Sisters''. Mary Chapin Carpenter's 1992 song " I Feel Lucky" makes reference to Lovett, as does Bloodhound Gang's 1999 song "

The Bad Touch "The Bad Touch" is a song by American alternative rock band Bloodhound Gang. It was released in September 1999 as the second single from their third studio album, '' Hooray for Boobies'', which was released the following year in the United State ...

", which includes the lyric, "and you'll Lovett just like Lyle." Lovett was given an award called an "Esky" for Surest Thing in Esquire's 2006 Esky Music Awards in the April issue. The magazine said of Lovett: "The secret of Lyle Lovett's endurance comes down to the three C's: class, charisma and consistency... In the studio and on stage with his giant orchestra, he's spent two decades gracefully matching genuine songcraft with A-list musicianship". In 2010, Lovett appeared on an episode of '' Spectacle: Elvis Costello with...'' that also featured

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 ...

and Ray LaMontagne. In 2011, Lovett was named ''Texas State Artist Musician ''by the Texas Commission on the Arts. Lovett contributed a cover of

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

's " Well... All Right" for the tribute album '' Listen to Me: Buddy Holly'', released on September 6, 2011. On October 24, 2019, Lovett was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Lovett married actress Julia Roberts after meeting her on the set of ''The Player''. Following a three-week romance, they eloped and married in June 1993 in Marion, Indiana. In March 1995, they divorced after less than two years of marriage. ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of proper ...

'' magazine reported that the breakup was caused by career demands. They remained friends afterwards. Since late 1997, Lovett has been in a relationship with April Kimble. They became engaged in 2003. They were married on February 4, 2017, in Harris County, Texas. Their twins, a boy and a girl, were born that year. On March 28, 2002, Lovett was trapped by a bull against a fence on his uncle's farm in Klein, Texas, before being pulled to safety. He fully recovered after six months from a badly broken leg, and he began touring again in summer 2003. Lovett was conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

on May 15, 2010, at its general commencement ceremony. His mother was in the audience as her son was presented with an honorary doctorate from the same university from which she had received her bachelor's degree in 1960. His father was also a graduate of the

Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture The Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture was founded in 1956 and is one of twelve academic colleges of the University of Houston. It offers both undergraduate and graduate level degree programs. In March 1997, Gerald D. Hines donated $7 millio ...

of the University of Houston. In 2015, Lovett received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Texas A&M University. Lovett is also a horse enthusiast and co-owns and competes in reining competitions with world class Quarter Horse, Smart and Shiney. In 2012, Lovett was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was awarded the National Reining Horse Association Lifetime Achievement Award in the National Reining Horse Association Hall of Fame.

Discography

*'' Lyle Lovett'' (1986) *'' Pontiac'' (1987) *'' Lyle Lovett and His Large Band'' (1989) *'' Joshua Judges Ruth'' (1992) *'' I Love Everybody'' (1994) *'' The Road to Ensenada'' (1996) *'' Step Inside This House'' (1998) *''

My Baby Don't Tolerate ''My Baby Don't Tolerate'' is an album recorded by Lyle Lovett and released in 2003. On ''Tolerate'', Lovett favors his country side a bit more than his many other facets. While long-time fans were reportedly disappointed with the album's pop-fla ...

'' (2003) *'' It's Not Big It's Large'' (2007) *'' Natural Forces'' (2009) *'' Release Me'' (2012) *'' 12th of June'' (2022)

Filmography

Musician

* ''

Still Alice A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been used ...

'' (2014) — song performer "If I Had A Boat"; songwriter for Karen Elson's performance of same * ''

'' (TV series, 2014) * '' True Blood'' (TV series, episode " I Will Rise Up", 2009) — song performer "I Will Rise Up" * '' Walk Hard'' (2007) — song performer " Walk Hard" * ''

Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communiti ...

'' (TV series, episode " Bullock Returns to the Camp", 2005) — song performer "Old Friend" (1994) * '' The Exonerated'' (TV movie, 2005) — song performer " Amazing Grace" * '' The Interpreter'' (2005) — song performer "If I Had a Boat" * '' 61*'' (TV movie, 2001) — song performer "Nobody Knows Me" * '' All Over the Guy'' (2001) — song performer and composer "She Makes Me Feel Good" and "The Blues Walk" * '' Dr. T & the Women'' (2000) — Song performer and composer and also used a recording of "You've Been So Good Up to Now" (1992), "She's Already Made Up Her Mind" (1992), "Ain't It Something" (1994) * ''

For Love of the Game ''For Love of the Game'' is a novel by American author Michael Shaara, published posthumously in 1991. The book tells the story of fictional baseball great Billy Chapel, thirty-seven years old and nearing the end of his career. Plot summary On t ...

'' (1999) — song performer "Summer Wind" * '' Stuart Little'' (1999) — song performer "Walking Tall" * '' Mumford'' (1999) — song performer "Ballad of the Snow Leopard and The Tanqueray Cowboy", "Till It Shines" * '' Clay Pigeons'' (1998) — song performer "Teach Me About Love" * '' Hope Floats'' (1998) — song performer " Smile" * '' The Apostle'' (1997) — song performer "(I'm a) Soldier in the Army of the Lord" * '' Toy Story'' (1995) — song performer "You've Got a Friend in Me" with

as the lead vocals. * '' Beverly Hills, 90210'' (TV series, episode " One Wedding and A Funeral", 1995) — song performer "Nobody Knows Me" * '' Quiz Show'' (1994) — song performer "

Moritat (; also spelled , or ) comes from Italian for "story-singer" and is known by many other names around the world. It is a theatrical form where a performer tells or sings a story while gesturing to a series of images. These images can be painted ...

" by

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

* '' With Honors'' (1994) — song performer "Blue Skies" * '' Major League II'' (1994) — song performer and composer "All My Love Is Gone" * ''

The Firm The FIRM (stylized as The FIRM) is a brand of exercise videos and equipment currently owned by Gaiam. The original "The FIRM" videos are best known for popularizing a hybrid of aerobic exercise and weight training. History In 1979, Anna Bens ...

'' (1993) — song performer "M-O-N-E-Y" * '' Leap of Faith'' (1992) — song performer "Pass Me Not" * '' The Crying Game'' (1992) — song performer " Stand By Your Man" * '' Major League'' (1989) — song performer "Cryin' Shame" * '' Always'' (1989) — song performer "Cowboy Man"

Actor

Theatre

Actor

* ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' (The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, 2010) – Balthazar

Composer

* ''

'' (The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, 2010)

Honors

Grammy Awards

The

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 pre ...

s are awarded annually by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy A ...

. Lovett has won four awards from 17 nominations. , - , rowspan=2, 1989 , "

She's No Lady ''She's No Lady'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Charles Vidor and starring Ann Dvorak, John Trent and Harry Beresford Harry J. Beresford (4 November 1863 – 4 October 1944) was an English-born actor on the American stage and ...

" , Best Country Song , , - , '' Pontiac'' , rowspan=2, Best Male Country Vocal Performance , , - , 1990 , '' Lyle Lovett and His Large Band'' , , - , rowspan=2,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, '' Joshua Judges Ruth'' , Best Male Pop Vocal Performance , , - , " Church" ,

Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Hon ...

, , - , rowspan=3,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

, '' I Love Everybody'' ,

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

, , - , " Funny How Time Slips Away" (with

) , Best Pop Collaboration , , - , " Blues for Dixie" (with

) ,

Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal The Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded from 1970 to 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: * In 1970 the award was known as Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group * From 1971 to 1 ...

, , - , rowspan=3, 1997 , " Private Conversation" , Best Male Country Vocal Performance , , - , " Long Tall Texan" (with

) , Best Country Collaboration with Vocals , , - , '' The Road to Ensenada'' , Best Country Album , , - ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

, '' Step Inside This House'' ,

Best Contemporary Folk Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album was awarded from 1987 to 2011. Until 1991 the award was known as the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. In 2007, this category was renamed Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album. As ...

, , - ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, " That's Right (You're Not from Texas)" , rowspan=3, Best Male Country Vocal Performance , , - , 2002 , " San Antonio Girl" , , - , rowspan=2,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, "

" , , - , ''

'' , Best Country Album , , - , 2005 , " In My Own Mind" , Best Male Country Vocal Performance ,

Citations

Sources

* Oermann, Robert K. (1998). "Lyle Lovett". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 307. *

External links

Official Lyle Lovett WebsiteLyle Lovett
at Lost Highway Records * * *
"Lovett charges ahead with his career"
– ''USA Today'', May 10, 2002.
"Homeboy"
by Alec Wilkinson, ''The New Yorker'', February 1, 2004.
"The Thinking Man's Cowboy"
by Matt Dellinger, ''The New Yorker'', February 23, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lovett, Lyle 1957 births American blues singers American country singer-songwriters American jazz singers American Lutherans American rockabilly guitarists American male singer-songwriters American people of German descent Americana Music Honors & Awards winners Country musicians from Texas Curb Records artists Fast Folk artists Grammy Award winners Klein High School alumni Living people Lost Highway Records artists MCA Records artists Musicians from Houston People from Klein, Texas Singer-songwriters from Texas Swing revival musicians Texas A&M University alumni Volpi Cup winners Western swing performers