Earle’s new album, the T Bone Burnett-produced I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, is scheduled for an April 26 release. If that moniker sounds somewhat familiar to you, that’s because it was also the title of Hank Williams’ last single released during the country legend’s lifetime, back in the day when vinyl was king.

Speaking of which, Earle is releasing a limited edition seven-inch single of his version of William’s “I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive” to commemorate Record Store Day April 16. Issuing only 2,600 copies on translucent red vinyl, the disc also contains Earle’s original composition, “This City,” on the B-side. If that tune stirs up a little déjà vu, it’s because it appeared on the HBO original series “Treme” which counted Earle among its cast members.

Earle is also using Williams’ tune for the title of his debut novel landing in stores May 12. The book “I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive” is Earle’s take on Doc Ebersole as he’s haunted by former patient and friend Williams.

“Ends up, he wasn’t really a doctor,” Williams said during an interview with Publishers Weekly. “He was a quack who thought he could cure alcoholics by treating them with chloral hydrate, which is like a really strong barbiturate. But the idea that he was a doctor was more interesting to me.”

Earle’s tour with his backing band, The Dukes (which features his wife Allison Moorer), begins in Seattle at the Moore Theatre June 9. Other stops include Portland (June 10), Bozeman, Mont. (June 13); Boise (July 1); Tucson (July 4); Fort Worth (July 9); Atlanta (July 15); Chicago (July 19); Detroit (July 30) and Boston (Aug. 17).

There are also quite a few Canada shows in the routing, including Alberta towns Medicine Hat (June 19) and Edmonton (June 20); Saskatchewan’s North Battleford (June 22) and Swift Current (June 23) and three stops in British Columbia – Vancouver (June 26); Nanaimo (June 28) and Victoria (June 29). Earle returns to Canada in August, playing Toronto (Aug. 20) and the Ottawa Folk Festival (Aug. 26).

In support of his album and novel, Earle is handing out free downloads of his song “Waitin’ On The Sky” bundled with a PDF of the first chapter from his book. For more information, click here for Steve Earle’s official website.