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Steve Earle released his classic “Copperhead Road” album back in October 1988. It was often called his first hard rock album, and MCA Records pushed the album to classic rock stations across America. They sent Steve on a nationwide tour opening for George Thorogood.

I bought tickets for their March 26, 1989, show in Houston at a venue called Club Xcess. When I arrived at the venue, Steve’s tour bus was parked out front. I remember it had a sign taped to the windshield that said “Where The Hell Are We?” I had brought along my ultra-rare vinyl EP that contained four of his earliest original songs, hoping to get it autographed.



Dale Martin covers live music for The Herald-Zeitung. I walked to the front door and to my surprise, it was unlocked. When I stepped in the lobby, there sat Steve reading the Houston Post newspaper.

He had a beard, long black hair and a leather motorcycle jacket. He was no longer the clean-cut guy from the Guitar Town days. Meekly, I asked if he would sign my record.

He looked at it for a minute, then said, “Where did you find this, I thought I destroyed every copy we made?” After he signed my record, he invited me to sit and talk awhile. That’s when I learned that Thorogood was sick, and rather than cancel the show, Steve and his band the Dukes were going to play an extra-long set. When he took the stage a few hours later, he told the crowd to call their babysitters because it was going to be a long show.

They played for almost four hours.

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