When they're not turning out would-be cowboys in Stetsons down in Texas, they make offbeat songwriters in love with words and all sorts of music. Lyle Lovett, whose career began in country music but has since moved way beyond, must certainly be one of the most offbeat of these writers, following a Texas tradition that encompasses writer/artists like Guy Clark (who gave a Lovett demo to MCA executive Tony Brown, leading to Lovett's signing with that label) and Townes Van Zandt. A critics' favorite whose skewed take on male/female relationships has also built him a sizable audience, Lovett is one of America's great (if occasionally obtuse) songwriters.
Born November 1, 1957, just outside Houston, Texas, Lovett graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in German and journalism. He later performed and studied in Europe, starting his music career in earnest only upon his return in 1984. That year, fellow Texan Nanci Griffith recorded Lovett's "If I Were The Woman You Wanted"; country singer Lacy J. Dalton later recorded his "Closing Time." Lovett's versions of both those songs appeared on his first album, Lyle Lovett, in 1986, along with his top 10 country hit "Cowboy Man."
Lovett's following albums could be considered "country" probably only by Lovett's twisted logic: Pontiac sounded more bluesy, Lyle Lovett & His Large Band featured big-band swing, and Joshua Judges Ruth was colored with quartet gospel. People thought he'd left country altogether by the time he released Joshua Judges Ruth, which he recorded in his part-home city of Los Angeles. He made a dramatic return in 1996 with The Road To Ensenada, which even won a Grammy for Best Country Album.
While in Los Angeles, Lovett began acting, with roles in two Robert Altman films, The Player and Short Cuts, as well as the 1998 independent black comedy The Opposite Of Sex. He raised his celebrity profile immensely when he married actress Julia Roberts in 1993 (she even appeared on his 1994 album I Love Everybody), though the couple split up two years later. Since their divorce, Lovett has released three more fine studio albums--1996's The Road To Ensenada, 1998's Step Inside This House, and 2003's Smile--as well as the 1999 concert album Live In Texas and his score to the 2000 Robert Altman film Dr. T & The Women.
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