On Sunday evening (August 23), a post on singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle’s Facebook page shared the tragic news that Earle, the son of folk artist Steve Earle, had died at 38.
“It is with tremendous sadness that we inform you of the passing of our son, husband, father and friend Justin. So many of you have relied on his music and lyrics over the years and we hope that his music will continue to guide you on your journeys. You will be missed dearly Justin,” the post read.
“I’ve crossed oceans
Fought freezing rain and blowing sand
I’ve crossed lines and roads and wondering rivers
Just looking for a place to land”
About a decade ago, Earle had told CMT.com what it was like growing up in Nashville as the son of a legendary singer-songwriter. “I spent many years, luckily, not in the public eye but trying to separate myself from my father. But, you know, I really realize that I sing different than my father,” he’d said, “I write different than my father, I sound different than my father and any separation other than that is personal. And nobody else’s business.”
Earle got his start as a young teenager when he played weekly gigs at the Springwater Supper Club in Nashville, where rising artists like Dierks Bentley got their start.
Earle’s father’s 1986 debut album Guitar Town — released just four years after Justin was born — was ranked as No. 27 on CMT’s 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music.
Steve Earle and his wife Carol-Ann Hunter Earle had named their son after iconic singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. No cause of death has been made available. Earle and his wife Jenn Marie have a 3-year-old daughter Etta St. James Earle.