Shawn Colvin
(born January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and musician.
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Childhood and early career
Colvin was born in
Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of
Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended
Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age of 10. Her first public concert was at age 15 at the
University of Illinois campus. Colvin cites
Joni Mitchell as a primary influence on her music, and her initial performances reflected that.
Career
Music
Colvin began working in the music scene in earnest in the late 1970s, first in
Austin,
Texas and then nationally. She moved to
New York City in 1980, where she became involved with the
Fast Folk
cooperative in
Greenwich Village.
[1]
She met music partner
John Leventhal during this time; Leventhal became Colvin's producer on several albums. Colvin often lends her talent to contemporaries in the music business; she can be heard singing the backing vocals on the
Suzanne Vega hit, "
Luka". Vega returned the favor, singing backup on Colvin's "Diamond In The Rough", from her debut album,
Steady On
. Early in their careers, Colvin and
Mary Chapin Carpenter formed a friendship that led to their frequently guesting on one-another's recordings: Colvin lent her vocals to Carpenter's 1992 recordings "
The Hard Way" and "
Come On Come On", and Mary Chapin returned the favor on Colvin's "Climb On a Back That's Strong", from Colvin's
Fat City
album. She also contributed in the studio and onstage to several
Bruce Hornsby songs.
Colvin spent a short time in 1987-1988 with the North Carolina-based experimental string band the
Red Clay Ramblers.
In 1988, Colvin was asked to perform a "trio" concert with fellow folk singer/songwriters
Cheryl Wheeler and Mary Chapin Carpenter. The three performed two consecutive nights to critical acclaim at
the Birchmere in
Alexandria,
Virginia. During these performances, Colvin performed several songs which appeared on her first two albums. The performances were recorded at the soundboard, although never released officially.
Colvin also has connections with singer/songwriters
Julie Miller and
Buddy Miller. Shawn became involved musically with the Millers when all three were working in Austin in the late 1970s/early '80s. Shawn provided backing vocals on Julie's first three solo albums (now out of print) released in 1990, 1991 and 1993.
Colvin's first several albums did not sell in substantial numbers. After several albums of original work, Colvin released
Cover Girl
, a collection of
cover versions. The work was not well received. During this period, she also toured as
Richard Thompson's opening act and back-up singer. She also sang "I Don't Want to Live on The Moon" with
Ernie on
Sesame Street, Ernie sang when Colvin said "hi" to him.
Colvin experienced breakthrough success with
A Few Small Repairs
in October 1996. The single "
Sunny Came Home" reached the US Top Ten, and won
Grammy Awards for Song and Record of the Year. She has released several subsequent albums which were nominated for Grammys, and she has also released a greatest hits album and a collection of Christmas music.
Colvin was the guest vocal artist on the
Lisa Loeb single "Falling in Love". She performed at various
Lilith Fair music festivals. Colvin's song "Nothin' on Me" served as the theme song to the
Brooke Shields situation comedy Suddenly Susan
. She also has been featured on the live music show
Austin City Limits
and played at the 2003 Austin City Limits Music Festival. She appeared in a 2001 tribute to
Joni Mitchell that was broadcast on
TNT.
Colvin appeared on
Live from Abbey Road
, which aired on Channel 4 in the UK and the Sundance Channel in the USA. Her live session recorded at
Abbey Road Studios was shown on an episode with
Nerina Pallot,
The Zutons and
Ray LaMontagne.
In 2007, Colvin released a single entitled "
Crazy", a cover of the
Gnarls Barkley song.
Colvin is scheduled to release a 15-song
Live
collection on June 23,2009 on Nonesuch . The album was recorded live in San Francisco during a three-night stint at Yoshi's in July 2008.
Television and film
Colvin made a few appearances on the comedy series
The Larry Sanders Show
, in the episodes "The Young Intern" (where she performed an acoustic version of "Polaroids") and "The New Writer" (where she performed an acoustic version of "Get Out of This House"). Colvin also ended the final episode of
The Larry Sanders Show
with an acoustic cover of "
Will You Love Me Tomorrow?".
She has made two guest appearances on animated comedy series
The Simpsons
as
Rachel Jordan, lead singer for a Christian rock band. She first appears in "
Alone Again, Natura-Diddily", where Rachel wins widower
Ned Flanders' heart. Later, in the episode "
I'm Goin' to Praiseland", Ned dates Rachel, only to scare her off when he tries to turn her into a version of his deceased wife Maude. The two promptly get back together at the end of the same episode. She has not been mentioned in the series since then.
Colvin plays country music legend
Kitty Wells in a cameo in
Crazy
, a film that features a number of contemporary artists as music stars of the past.
Colvin's rendition of
"Viva Las Vegas" can be heard during the closing credits of the Coen Brothers film,
The Big Lebowski
.
Colvin appeared in a Season 2 episode of ll
The L Wordll, "Land Ahoy," as herself.
Personal life
Colvin lives in
Austin, Texas, and still participates in the Austin music scene.
Awards and recognition
- Grammy Awards
- *1991: Best Contemporary Folk Album — Steady On
- *1998: Record of the Year — "Sunny Came Home"
- *1998: Song of the Year — "Sunny Came Home"
- Grammy Nominations
- *1994: Best Contemporary Folk Recording — Fat City
- *1994: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance — "I Don't Know Why"
- *1995: Best Contemporary Folk Album — Cover Girl
- *1997: Best Pop Album — A Few Small Repairs
- *1997: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance — "Get Out of This House"
- *1998: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance — "Sunny Came Home"
Discography
Albums
Year
| Album
| Chart Positions
| RIAA
|
US
| US Heat
| UK
|
1989
| Steady On
| 111
|
|
| Gold
|
1992
| Fat City
| 142
| 2
|
|
|
1994
| Cover Girl
| 48
|
| 67
|
|
1995
| Live '88
|
|
|
|
|
1996
| A Few Small Repairs
| 39
|
|
| Platinum
|
1998
| Holiday Songs and Lullabies
| 181
|
|
|
|
2001
| Whole New You
| 101
|
|
|
|
2004
| Polaroids: A Greatest Hits Collection
|
|
|
|
|
2006
| These Four Walls
| 109
|
|
|
|
2009
| Live
|
|
|
|
|
Singles
Year
| Song
| Peak chart positions
| Album
|
US
| US AC
| US Mod. Rock
| CAN
| CAN AC
| UK [2] [3]
|
1990
| "Steady on"
| —
| 30
| 23
| —
| —
| —
| Steady on
|
"Diamond in the Rough"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
1992
| "Round of Blues"
| —
| —
| 25
| —
| —
| 73
| Fat City
|
"Climb on (A Back That's Strong)"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
1993
| "I Don't Know Why"
| —
| 16
| —
| 59
| —
| 62
|
1994
| "Every Little Thing He Does is Magic"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 65
| Cover Girl
|
1995
| "One Cool Remove" (w/ Mary Chapin Carpenter)
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 40
|
"I Don't Know Why" [re-release]
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 52
| Fat City
|
1997
| "Get Out of This House"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 70
| A Few Small Repairs
|
"Sunny Came Home"
| 7
| 1
| —
| 3
| 1
| 29
|
"You and Mona Lisa"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 20
| —
|
1998
| "Nothin' on Me"
| —
| —
| —
| 25
| 25
| —
|
2001
| "Whole New You"
| —
| 24
| —
| —
| —
| —
| Whole New You
|
"Bound to You"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
2006
| "Fill Me Up"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| These Four Walls
|
2007
| "Crazy"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| non-album single
|
— denotes releases that did not chart.
|
Other contributions
- One Fine Day (film)
Track 5: "Someone Like You" - (CD) - Sony - 1996
- ''Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours]' Track 7: "The Chain" — (CD) — Atlantic Records — 1998
- Elmopalooza!
Track 6: "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon" (with Ernie) — (CD) — Sony Wonder — 1998
- Runaway Bride
Track 8: "Never Saw Blue Like That Before" — (CD) — Sony — 1999
- Serendipity
Track 7: "When You Know" — (CD) — Sony — 2001
- 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10
Track 7: "Not a Drop of Rain" — (CD) — 2002
- WYEP Live and Direct: Volume 4 - On Air Performances
Track 3: "Whole New You" — (CD) — 2002
- Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins
Track 5: "Secret Gardens" — (CD) — Wildflower — 2008
- Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
- Outbound
- Track 3: "A Moment So Close" (Vocals) - (CD) - 2000
See also
References
- Hochman, Steve. "A Folk Stylist Hangs on to Intimacy Artist: Shawn Colvin.", ''Los Angeles Times'', November 26, 1989. Accessed June 5, 2009.
- British Hit Singles & Albums
- [1]