Rodney Crowell

A contemporary of Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell cut his teeth playing in Emmylou Harris' Hot Band before marrying into country royalty, wedding Rosanne Cash and producing her albums until their 1992 divorce. Among his most celebrated solo feats are his 1978 debut, Ain't Living Long Like This, a commercial disappointment that nonetheless cemented his reputation as a great songwriter, and his 1988 commercial breakthrough, Diamonds & Dirt, a mean collection of traditional country and rollicking pub rock. Even as he's embraced mostly acoustic sounds on his recent albums, including his latest, 2008's Sex and Gasoline, Crowell has lost little of his songwriting ferocity.