Terraplane, the title of three-time Grammy winner Steve Earle’s 16th studio set, is a nod to Delta legend Robert Johnson’s “Terraplane Blues,” but the similarities end there. The record, inspired by his divorce from singer Allison Moorer in 2014, evokes the electric Texas rock of ZZ Top and the fire of Chicago blues icon Howlin’ Wolf, colored by 60-year-old Earle’s world-weary lyrics.
One of the highlights of the LP is “Better Off Alone.” You have been married and divorced seven times — is that something you think about a lot?
It goes through my head, but I’d rather think about baseball and pussy. (Laughs.)
Would you get married again?
I’m done with it. I got married a lot in the ’80s, but, after that, I didn’t get married for a long time on purpose. For some reason, I thought [my relationship with Moorer] was different.
You have a 4-year-old son. Is it difficult for two touring musicians to raise a kid?
It’s weird, because we raise the kid together just fine. It’s the nuts and bolts of divorce where we aren’t getting along. He has been at my house more because I’ve been off, but I’m getting back on the road for nine months — going through divorce at this age, I need the money. Being away from him is really hard. He’s little and has autism, so he needs me for a lot of reasons. And I need him because he’s all I got.