Lyle Pearce Lovett was born on November 1st in 1957. He attended Texas A&M University where he studied journalism, and it was while he was in college that he started to write songs influenced by Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker and Townes Van Zandt.
Lovett began touring the country music circuit and met Nanci Griffith in the process. He made appearances on two of her albums and by 1986 he had signed a recording contract with MCA/Curb Records. He released his self-titled debut, but his acceptance in country music circles didn't come easy. It wasn't until his album was released in Europe that he started to receive some attention.
He followed with Pontiac, which was released in 1987 after a successful European tour. The album was a little more folk than it was country, but by the time it was released, Lyle had already been talking about recording and touring with his large band. His third album was indeed titled, Lyle And His Large Band and included a full rhythm section, several saxophone players and a female back-up vocalist.
With a cover version of Tammy Wynette's 'Stand By Your Man' and a cover of the classic R&B song, 'The Glory Of Love', critics and record buyers across the U.S. were thoroughly confused. They didn't know if Lovett was attempting to record a country album, a jazz record, or something entirely different all together.
It was at this point Lovett started dabbling in other facets of the entertainment industry. He began producing albums for other artists, he made guest appearances on other people's albums, and he got a role in Robert Altman's feature film, The Player. By the time he released his fourth album, Joshua Judges Ruth, Lovett had married actress Julia Roberts and landed another spot in Altman's 1993 film Short Cuts. A year later, he released album number five, I Love Everybody.
Roberts and Lovett went their separate ways in 1995, and he didn't release another album until late in 1996. The Road To Esenada was his most successful debut at number four on the country charts. He mixed bossa nova, Cajun and honky-tonk with a country feel, and critics loved it. In 1998, Lovett took a small part in the film Cookie's Fortune and another in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He also released his album Step Inside This House and followed in 1999 with Live In Texas. He received critical acclaim for his supporting role in the Opposite of Sex in 1999 and continued to collaborate with Robert Altman by composing the score for Dr. T and the Women in 2000.
Over the years Lovett has continued to produce songs that are loved by the movie industry. He released an album in 2003 called Smile, which was a compilation of his songs that had been used in movies over the years. Songs from With Honors', 'Kissing Jessica Stein', 'Toy Story', 'Quiz Show', 'Stuart Little and The Apostle were all featured on the album. He has continued to do live performances in promotion of his work and was featured on PBS's season premier of the series SoundStage.
