Rodney Crowell在70年代曾以一首“Ain’t Living Long Like This”成為當時納什維爾音樂的先鋒人物，這也奠定了他在鄉村音樂領域中的地位。Rodney的鄉村音樂具有流行風格，他與Tim McGraw、Vince Gill以及Bob Seger等人一起開創了流行化的鄉村音樂。近幾年Rodney Crowell的演藝事業并不成功，由于早年作品過度的商業化使他的歌曲失去了個性，那些作品多是些迎合電臺播放的歌曲，在近幾年我們再也沒有看到他的新作。 by Jason Ankeny While Rodney Crowell first gained widespread recognition as a leader of the new traditionalist movement of the mid-80s, he in fact was a singer, songwriter, and producer with roots and ambitions extending far beyond the movements parameters. Born to a musical family on August 7, 1950, in Houston, TX, Crowell formed his first band, the Arbitrators, while in high school, and in 1972 moved to Nashville to become a professional musician. There, he struck up friendships with singer/songwriters Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark. Crowells first big break came while he was performing as a lounge singer, where one of his acoustic sets was heard by Jerry Reed. Crowells own You Cant Keep Me Here in Tennessee caught the ear of Reed and his manager, and two days later Reed recorded the song after signing Crowell to his publishing company. In 1975, Crowell moved to Los Angeles to join Emmylou Harris Hot Band as a guitarist, and soon became one of her primary songwriters; among the Crowell compositions Harris first popularized were Till I Gain Control Again, Aint Livin Long Like This, Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight, and Bluebird Wine. In 1977, Crowell exited the Hot Band to form his own group, the Cherry Bombs, and in 1978 released his first album, Aint Living Long Like This; surprisingly, given that he had built his growing reputation as a songwriter, his first two minor hits — Elvira and (Now and Then, Theres) A Fool Such as I — were both covers.