Rodney Crowell: Compassion is #1.

Rodney Crowell told the audience at Cleveland’s Beachland Ballroom that 2 of his songs from The Houston Kid are connected. The songs are from the vantage point of two brothers, twins, one of whom has AIDS. I Wish It Would Rain is a first person narrative from the brother who is stricken; In Wandering Boy we hear the feelings of the other child. I thanked Rodney after the show for sharing the story and I told him that Folk Alley has been playing both songs. I also told him that it’s one thing to have folks whistling his songs on the way home, and quite another when they talk about them over coffee in the morning. He seemed very pleased to hear these comments and admitted that education and concern for others was high on his list. He told me that he loves NPR, for example, and that his tour bus is full of books. “We’re all avid readers,” he told me. He may be a reader, but he’s a “doer” as well. Last year Rodney took his daughter to the streets to deliver food and clothing to the homeless.