Hear Steve Earle Play Cuts from Guitar Town, Released Today in 1986
What's your favorite song from the prolific songwriter's breakthrough album?
Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Music Features Steve Earle
Steve Earle is an outlaw for the generations. On this day (March 5) in 1986, he released his debut full-length and breakthrough album Guitar Town. He has barely slowed down in the 34 years since then, releasing albums nearly every two to three years, the most recent of which arrived last year in the form of GUY.
The same year of Guitar Town’s release, Earle was playing all the hits from his classic debut with his band The Dukes. At a show at the now-shuttered NYC venue The Bottom Line that year, a young Earle played cuts from the album like the title track, “Hillbilly Highway,” “My Old Friend The Blues,” “Fearless Heart” and more.
Listen to Earle perform “Guitar Town” below, followed by the entire concert from 1986. While you’re at it, watch Earle’s Paste Studio session from March 2019, further down.
Read: Steve Earle: Desperado Remembering a Train