steve earle

Country singers are known for being storytellers -- trying to spin meaning out of heartbreak and hard times.

They may be stars now, but some of country music's most popular performers really paid their dues in their early days.

Put on your cowboy boots and let's boogie!

"You know what I want to come out of this record? I just want people in West Virginia to know I hear them, to know that I give a f--k, that somebody who lives in New York City gives a f--k."

His self-removal from the suit leaves only one artist remaining in the legal battle.

“I thought that, given the way things are now, it was maybe my responsibility to make a record that spoke to and for people who didn’t vote the way that I did,” Earle explains.

The music business is a high-stakes, high-risk venture, and it's not unusual for things to wind up in court.

"Old friends, they shine like diamonds..."

No doubt -- Earle has written some truly iconic songs.

Earle, Tom Petty's ex-wife, the Tupac Shakur estate and the bands Hole and Soundgarden filed a class-action lawsuit over the 2008 fire that damaged or destroyed as many as 500,000 master recordings held by Universal Music Group (UMG).