Vonda Shepard
(born July 7, 1963) is an American pop/rock singer. She appeared as a regular in the television show Ally McBeal
from seasons 1-5 in which she played a resident performer at the bar where the show's characters drank after work. She plays piano, guitar, and bass.
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VONDA SHEPARD TICKETS
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Biography
Vonda Shepard was born in
New York but her family relocated to
California when she was fairly young. She played piano from an early age. Her father is
Richmond Shepard, a
mime and improv actor. Vonda has three sisters: Armina, Rosetta (now Brianna) and Luana. Her mother, Hadria left the family when Vonda was ten, and her father raised the four girls by himself.
[1]
After performing as a backing singer for many years she was eventually given her own recording contract. Shepard's first chart appearance was in 1987 when she recorded a duet with
Dan Hill entitled 'Can't We Try'. She released her first self-titled album in 1989 with little fanfare. The album did yield one chart single, "Don't Cry Ilene", a mid-tempo, piano-driven jazz-R&B flavored song dealing with the break-up of a relationship between a black woman and a white man, arising from adult peer pressure. The track is sung from the perspective of the woman's white female friend, who harbors a desire to have the man for herself, but keeps her distance out of respect for her friend. The song peaked at 17 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart and stayed on the charts for 12 weeks.
[2]
After her third album, Shepard was signed up to appear on
Ally McBeal
after being spotted by the show's creator
David E Kelley. While on the show she recorded two full soundtrack albums and was featured on two other
Ally McBeal
compilations. The songs Shepard recorded for
Ally McBeal
soundtrack albums were mainly covers of old songs with lyrics that paralleled what was happening in the title character's life onscreen. Since appearing in the show, Shepard has released two more studio albums and a live album.
Shepard has been married to music producer
Mitchell Froom since 2004; they had their first child, Jack Froom, on
15 April 2006.
Discography
Albums
- Vonda Shepard
1989 US: Reprise/Warner Bros. Records, licensed to Vesper Alley Records in 1998
- The Radical Light
1992 US: Reprise/Warner Bros. Records, licensed to Vesper Alley Records in 1998
- It's Good, Eve
1996 US: Vesper Alley Records / UK: Epic Records
- Songs From Ally McBeal
1998 US: 550 Music/Epic/SME Records / UK: Epic Records #3 /Spain: #1
- By 7:30
1999 US: Jacket Records / UK: Epic Records #39
- Heart And Soul: New Songs From Ally McBeal
1999 US: 550 Music/Epic/SME Records / UK: Epic Records #9
- Chinatown
2002 US: Jacket Records / UK: Edel Music
- Live: A Retrospective
2005 US: Jacket Records
- From the Sun
2008 US: Redeye Distribution
Compilation soundtracks
- Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas
2000 US: 550 Music/Epic/SME Records / UK: Epic Records
- Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life
Soundtrack 2001 US: 550 Music/Epic/SME Records / UK: Epic Records
Charted singles (USA)
- "Can't We Try" (duet with Dan Hill) - Pop #6, Adult Contemporary #2, 1987
- "Don't Cry Ilene" - Adult Contemporary #17, 1990
- "I Shy Away" - Adult Contemporary #37, 1990
- "Searchin' My Soul" - Pop #16 (airplay only) [3], Adult Contemporary #22, 1998
- "Baby, Don't You Break My Heart Slow" (duet with Emily Saliers) - Adult Contemporary #21, 1999
NOTE: "Searchin' My Soul" was not released as a commercial single and was therefore not eligible for the
Billboard Hot 100 per chart rules at the time of its release. However the song charted at #16 on the
airplay chart.
Singles from the Ally McBeal soundtracks
- Searchin' My Soul
#1 Spain
- Hooked On A Feeling
#7 Spain
- Maryland
- Tell Him
#29 Spain
- Read Your Mind
- This Old Heart Of Mine
- Baby Don't You Break My Heart Slow
(with Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls)
- Someday We'll Be Together
- Confetti
- Love Is Alive
(with Anastacia)
- Chances Are
(with Robert Downey Jr.)
References
- [1] IMDb Trivia information
- [1] Billboard chart information
- Hot 100 Airplay Searchin My Soul