Mary Lou Lord

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Mary Lou Lord

Mary Lou Lord performing in 2006
Background information
Birth name Mary Lou Lord
Born 1 March 1965 (1965-03-01) (age 44)
Salem, Massachusetts
Genres Folk, folk rock, pop
Occupations Singer-songwriter, busker
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 1990 - present
Labels Kill Rock Stars, Work Records, Rubric Records
Associated acts Elliott Smith
Website Official website

Mary Lou Lord (born March 1, 1965) is an indie folk musician, busker and recording artist.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Mary Lou Lord first gained notice playing acoustic guitar and singing in and around Boston's subway stations (particularly on the Red Line, as noted by the name she chose for her music and lyric publishing company, On the Red Line Music, administered by BMI.)

Lord claimed she had a romantic relationship with Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain before the group's rise to mainstream fame. This claim was disputed by Courtney Love and allegedly by Cobain himself. In 1993, a note signed by Cobain was faxed to an editor of the Boston Phoenix, which claimed that he was never in a relationship with Lord and suggested that she "see a therapist." [1] The editor, Brett Milano, would later say that these notes were signed by Kurt but written in Courtney's handwriting.[2] In 1994, at a party for Cobain widow Courtney Love's band Hole, Lord ended up being chased down Sunset Strip by Love. She later said, "It ended with me wetting myself and hiding from her in an alleyway after both of our tops had fallen down and she had chased me down Sunset Strip."[3]

Lord toured three separate times with Elliott Smith during the 1990s. Smith also wrote and helped Lord record a song called "I Figured You Out" in 1997.

Her recordings have been a mixture of covers (including songs by Elliott Smith and Richard Thompson) and original material, with a number of songs written by, or in collaboration with, Nick Saloman of the British band The Bevis Frond.

Her recording of Daniel Johnston's "Speeding Motorcycle" (which originally featured on her self-titled 8-song Kill Rock Stars release) was featured in commercials for Target stores, after which her label reissued the song as the lead-off track of a CD single which also included two demo recordings from the sessions for Got No Shadow.

In 2001, Lord released Live City Sounds. This was a self-released disc of Mary Lou playing live in the Boston subway. The disc was later re-released after Mary Lou signed to Rubric Records.

She announced in 2005 that she suffered from a rare vocal cord affliction known as spasmodic dysphonia. She thereafter became more involved in A&R work and started a new management company with her husband Kevin Patey, Jittery Jack Management.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs and singles

[edit] Compilation and soundtrack contributions

King Vinyl (2002)

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ " JUST THE FAX: Kurt Cobain to the Phoenix: 'F--- off!'" http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid36467.aspx
  2. ^ Halperin, Ian & Wallace, Max. Love and Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain, p.272. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-7434-8484-3
  3. ^ A perfect pitch | OMM | The Observer

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Lou_Lord"