She was given her own guitar as a Christmas present when she was 16 years old, but became a mother at 17 and played and sang at home, developing her own style of finger picking.
[2] When she was 29 years old, Earle moved to Nashville to live with her brother Steve, and sang backing vocals and played rhythm guitar on his 1991 album The Hard Way, and for the subsequent world tour.
During this time, she met fellow guitarist and singer Mark Stuart who became her partner in running the events and then later became her second husband.
[3] In 1998 she released the album Simple Gearle which later appeared on The New York Times "Favorite CD's You Nearly Missed" list.
Reviewer Jon Pareles stated: "On an album completed in four days, Stacey Earle's songs came out homespun and pristine.