Natalie Merchant
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| Natalie Merchant | |
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 Merchant in 1984
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Natalie Anne O'Shea Merchant |
| Born | October 26, 1963 Jamestown, New York, USA |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | vocals, keyboard, piano |
| Years active | 1981 - present |
| Associated acts | 10,000 Maniacs |
| Website | http://www.nataliemerchant.com |
Natalie Anne O'Shea Merchant (born October 26, 1963 in Jamestown, New York, U.S.) is a professional musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.
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[edit] Family
Her paternal surname Merchant is of Sicilian origin and was originally Mercanto before being Anglicised. The name O'Shea is on her maternal side; they are of Irish extraction.
As a child, her mother listened to music (Beatles, Al Green, Aretha Franklin)[1] and encouraged her children to study music, but she wouldn't allow TV after Natalie was 12. "I was taken to the symphony a lot because my mother loved classical music. But I was dragged to see Styx when I was 12. We had to drive 100 miles to Buffalo, New York. Someone threw up next to me and people were smoking pot. It was terrifying. I remember Styx had a white piano which rose out of the stage. It was awe-inspiring and inspirational."[2] "She [her mother] had show tunes, she had the soundtrack from West Side Story and South Pacific. And then eventually... she'd always liked classical music and then she married a jazz musician, so that's the kind of music I was into. I never really had friends who sat around and listened to the stereo and said 'hey, listen to this one', so I'd never even heard of who Bob Dylan was until I was 18.".[3] During 1988-1989, Natalie claimed she still didn't have a TV: "I grew up in a house where no one watched the news on television and no one read the paper. I've been discovering these things as I get older, and the news has affected me more than it ever has before."[4] Her mother raised Natalie and her siblings alone, as Natalie's parents divorced in 1972. Her mother later remarried.[5]
She is married and has a daughter. She likes gardening and painting.[6] Some paintings can be seen at her official website.
While she has been a vegetarian since 1980[7] due to her pregnancy she once again resumed eating meat[8]. She once said: "The '60s aesthetic has never really appealed to me, the tie-dyed Deadhead running barefoot through the forest on LSD. I don't think that's really me. But I've been a vegetarian for 17 years and I consider myself an environmentalist inasmuch as I can be, considering the job that I have. I prefer living in the countryside rather than the city; I find it more sane and sustaining for myself.[9]
[edit] Career
Merchant was the lead singer of the band 10,000 Maniacs, joining in its infancy in 1981 while she was a student at Jamestown Community College.
She left the band in 1993 to pursue a successful solo career. Her debut solo album Tigerlily (1995) had three Top 40 singles in the U.S.: "Carnival," "Jealousy," and "Wonder." In 1997, she first performed "Planctus," a song for voice and piano written for her by Philip Glass. In 1998, Merchant released Ophelia, supported by co-headlining the concert tour Lilith Fair. The following year she released Live in Concert, containing covers and solo songs as well as a few from the 10,000 Maniacs era.
In 2001, Merchant released her album Motherland and went on an extensive tour of North America and Europe. She parted ways with Elektra Records in 2003 and released a folk album of traditional songs called The House Carpenter's Daughter in September of that year on Myth America Records, her own label.
In 2004 Elektra Records released Campfire Songs by 10,000 Maniacs, which includes a number of songs recorded during Natalie's tenure with the band. In 2005 Elektra Records released Retrospective: 1995-2005, a collection of her solo hits. It was also released as a limited-edition two-CD package featuring rare and previously unreleased songs.
Merchant plays the piano, and has written and produced almost all of her songs. She has sung alongside Michael Stipe, Susan McKeown, David Byrne, Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel, among many other artists. She has also collaborated with Billy Bragg (and Wilco) a number of times, including the 1998 album Mermaid Avenue. Like Bragg's, her work touches on social and political themes, and she has actively raised such issues both in her songs and through the causes to which she lends her name, such as Amnesty International and the American Indian Movement.
She also appeared as a guest musician on Cowboy Junkies' 2007 album Trinity Revisited, a 20th anniversary edition of their classic album The Trinity Session.
According to a representative from Natalie's management, she is currently recording a new solo album. A release date is yet to be announced but is expected either late 2008 or early 2009.
[edit] Discography
[edit] With 10,000 Maniacs
- Human Conflict Number Five (1982)
- Secrets of the I Ching (1983)
- The Wishing Chair (1985)
- In My Tribe (1987)
- Blind Man's Zoo (1989)
- Hope Chest: The Fredonia Recordings 1982-1983 (1990)
- Our Time in Eden (1992)
- MTV Unplugged (1993)
- Campfire Songs: The Popular, Obscure and Unknown Recordings (2004)
[edit] Solo albums
- Tigerlily (1995)
- Ophelia (1998)
- Tigerlily (Bonus CD) (1999)
- Live in Concert (1999)
- Motherland (2001)
- The House Carpenter's Daughter (2003)
- Retrospective: 1995-2005 (2005)
- Retrospective: 1990-2005 Special Deluxe Edition (2005)
[edit] Single releases
- "Carnival" was her debut single, which was released to U.S. airwaves in the summer of 1995 and climbed to the #10 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The single received a radio edit, cutting the song down from the six-minute LP version.
- "Wonder" was the second single from the album Tigerlily. The single was released in the autumn of 1995, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard Singles Chart and number 7 on the Top 40 Mainstream Charts. "Wonder" received a slight radio remix for its commercial release. The released commercial single contains the radio version of the song (credited as 'remix') and the bonus track "Baby I Love You". The U.S. single even saw new interactive elements on the single containing the music video for "Wonder". This was one of the very first singles ever released to contain the music video of the song (since this was a new technology).
- "Jealousy" was the third single (and probably the most famous) by Natalie Merchant. In a magazine interview, it was revealed that the song is about Merchant's broken engagement to record company executive David Bither. "Jealousy" was released in the spring of 1996. The single reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and climbed to the number 8 spot on the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream Singles Charts. Natalie Merchant decided to re-record the song for its final release. Introducing new instruments, speeding up the track and creating a more upbeat tempo. The final commercial release of the single was released in the U.S. on May 28, 1996. The CD single contained the live bonus track taken from Merchant's current U.S. tour, "Sympathy For The Devil", a cover of The Rolling Stones hit. The CD single also contained the brand new version of "Jealousy", also credited as the 'remix' or 'radio remix'.
- "San Andreas Fault" was the fourth single taken from Tigerlily. However, the single was never officially released commercially, but only in support of Natalie's current tour. The single received a decent radio edit with new vocals and a slight alteration of the song from the original. A music video was never created and a commercial single was never released for purchase. Promotional singles were sent out in late summer of 1996. The song was covered by Japanese artist UA on her 2007 album Golden Green.
- "Kind & Generous" April 1998 saw the release of the first single from her second solo album Ophelia. A soft uptempo ballad became one of Merchant's most catchy singles to date. Managers felt sales of a single might lower the sales of the album, therefore without a commercial release the single did not make the Billboard Hot 100, although it was a hit on the radio, peaking at number 12 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.
- "Break Your Heart" was Merchant's second single taken from the second album Ophelia. The song was released in February 1999. The delay in the release of the follow up single to "Kind & Generous" was due to the fact that Merchant had gone on tour with the Lilith Fair. The single peaked again at the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream Singles Chart (peaking at 38). The final commercial release received two versions of the song, the 'pop radio edit' running at a total of three minutes and twenty seconds while the standard radio edit ran a total of four minutes and twenty five seconds. A commercial single was never released for purchase.
- "Life Is Sweet" was the third and final single released from Ophelia. "Life Is Sweet" also hit the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream, peaking at number 38 just as her previous single "Break Your Heart". The song was released to radios in June 1999. Several versions of this single were released for radio airplay. The main version release was the VH1 Storytellers Radio Edit, the second version was the standard radio edit. A commercial single saw no release in the US or internationally.
- "Space Oddity" is the first and last single taken from Merchant's Live album. The song is a cover of David Bowie's hit single. The single was never really released for airplay but for promotion for the album. The promo single contained a radio edit of the live version and the LP live version.
- "Just Can't Last" was the first single to be lifted from Merchant's fourth album. The single was released in November 2001. It also hit number 1 on the Triple A charts. The single peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream Charts. The single released to the radio was a huge difference from the version released on the album. The single is credited as the radio edit, and received different vocals and a different sound (a more pop sound). A commercial single was not released domestically but internationally.
- "Build a Levee" was the second, and so far last single released by Merchant. However this single received no music video. The final version released was a shortened version from the album (aka the radio edit) and there was also a radio remix with new vocals and instruments. The single never charted and was never released commercially, except as a promo given to local radio stations in the U.S.
[edit] Compilation Albums
- "Little April Shower" with Michael Stipe, Mark Bingham, and The Roches on Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films
- "Which Side Are You On?" on Music of Coal: Mining Songs from the Appalachian Coalfields
- "There Is No Good Reason" with Mighty Sam McClain and others on "Give US Your Poor"
[edit] Samples
- Download sample of "San Andreas Fault" from Tigerlily
[edit] References
- ^ Buffalo News, December 5, 1995
- ^ Q, January 1994
- ^ Melody Maker, September 22, 1984
- ^ San Diego Union-Tribune, August 18, 1989
- ^ Buffalo News, December 5, 1995
- ^ Vox, 1995, Cleveland Plain Dealer, 1993; US Magazine, 1996 and others
- ^ Vegetarian Times, March 1989
- ^ http://wfuv.streamguys.us/archive/7807.asx
- ^ Indianapolis Star - October 24, 1995
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- NatalieMerchant.com (official site)
- Natalie Merchant at the Ectophile's Guide to Good Music
- Natalie Merchant at the Internet Movie Database
- Natalie Merchant discography at MusicBrainz
- Launch's page on Merchant
