For those that don’t already know, Townes is a 2009 Steve Earle album on which he pays tribute to his friend and mentor, the late singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt by covering his songs. The songs selected for Townes were the ones that meant the most to Earle and the ones he personally connected to (not including selections featured on previous Earle albums). Some of the selections chosen were songs that Earle has played his entire career (‘Pancho & Lefty’, ‘Lungs’, ‘White Freightliner Blues’) and others he had to learn specifically for recording.
Notable guest appearances on the album include Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave/Street Sweeper Social Club) playing electric guitar on “Lungs”, and Earle’s wife Allison Moorer singing backing vocals on “Loretta” and “To Live is to Fly”. Earle and his son, Justin Townes Earle trade verses on “Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold”.
In this 2009 interview, Steve Earle sits down in Studio Q to talk about Townes Van Zandt the late songwriting legend and the influence he had on his music and life
