Rodney Crowell

When Rodney Crowell released his '88 breakthrough, Diamonds & Dirt — spawning five #1 singles in the process — he'd already lived a musical lifetime, from his stint as a pre-teen drummer in his dad's Houston combo to his salad days at Nashville's alt-country hotbed Bishop's Pub to world travels with Emmylou Harris' Hot Band and even a 1980 crossover hit, "Ashes By Now." Our Basics covers the bases, with the chart-topping, heartbreaking Roseanne Cash duet "It's Such a Small World" all the way to 2005's "Dancin' Circles Round the Sun (Epictetus Speaks)."

Compare Rodney Crowell's sweet-and-clear timbre on a 1978 rendition of "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such As I" to the been-there-done-that texture on "Still Learning How to Fly," from 2003's Fate's Right Hand, and you'll get some idea why Crowell calls the latter work a "quasi-spiritual look at the complexities of living the so-called examined life." But then, Crowell's always had a habit of waxing philosophical — in a roadhouse kind of way — from the honky-tonkin' paradox of "My Past Is Present" to the semi-tongue-in-cheek pleas of "The Obscenity Prayer (Give It to Me)"

Back in the early '70s, Rodney Crowell just wanted to write a song that would impress his hero, fellow Texan Guy Clark. The result was the rollicking "Bluebird Wine." Since then, Crowell's compositions have been covered by a staggering array of artists — witness "Voila, an American Dream," made famous by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Over the years, Crowell has returned the favor with, among other covers, a rockin' version of Hank Devito's "Queen of Hearts," and the bluesy barnstormer "Old Pipeliner," by Ray King and Tommy Hill.

Maybe one person can't be all things to all people, but Rodney Crowell comes mighty close. Born in Houston to a famously rambunctious musical family, Crowell has been making music onstage since the age of 11, when he played drums in his father's band. Since then, the triple-threat songwriter, performer, and producer has managed to straddle the worlds of both traditional and alt-country, work with countless superstars (Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, ad infinitum), score #1 hits for himself and others (Keith Urban sang his chart-topping rendition of "Making Memories of Us" to Nicole Kidman on their wedding day), and hear literally hundreds of his songs covered by everyone from Waylon Jennings to Buck Owens, Bruce Springsteen to Tim McGraw, even the Grateful Dead to Andy Williams.