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Natalie Merchant

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Natalie Merchant

Natalie Anne O'Shea Merchant (born October 26, 1963 in Jamestown, New York, USA) is a professional musician. She joined the rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and began her solo career in 1993.

Family

Her paternal surname Merchant is of Sicilian origin and was originally Mercanto before being Americanized. The O'Sheas on her mother's side are of Irish extraction.

In 2003 she married Daniel de la Calle, then her personal photographer, and gave birth to their first daughter, Lucia. In the summer, they live in a small mountainside village outside Malaga in Southern Spain where her husband is from, winter is spent in Hawaii, and springtime is spent in Japan appreciating the blossoms in Kyoto - Merchant's "favorite city in the world". They spend the rest of the year in Upstate New York where Merchant grew up. [1][2]

Career

Merchant was the lead singer of the band 10,000 Maniacs, joining in its infancy in 1981. 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.

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. Merchant plays the piano, has produced and has written almost all of her songs.

Merchant has sung alongside Michael Stipe, David Byrne and Peter Gabriel. She has also collaborated with Billy Bragg a number of times, including the 1998 album Mermaid Avenue. Like Bragg, her work touches on social and political themes; she has been active in raising a number of campaigning issues in both her songs and through the causes to which she lends her name. She has been referred to as "the Poet Laureate of pop" and "the Emily Dickinson of pop".[citation needed]

Discography

Single releases

  • "Carnival" was seen as the debut single from the former 10,000 Maniacs lead vocalist. The single was released to U.S. airwaves in the summer of 1995 (July 18 saw the commercial release of the single). The single shot straight to the number ten spot on the Billboard Hot 100, and made Merchant a household name within rock music. The single received a radio edit cutting the song down from the six-minute LP version.
  • "Wonder" was the second single to be lifted from the album Tigerlily. The single was released in the autumn of 1995 (November 21 saw the official commercial single release). The single peaked at number 20 on the same Billboard Singles Chart. Although the single wasn't as successful as "Carnival" it did manage to reach number 7 on the Top 40 Mainstream Charts, proving to be yet another commercial single success for the soloist. "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. "Jealousy" was released to airwaves 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.
  • "Kind & Generous" In April 1998 the world received the anticipated followup single from her debut album Tigerlily. A soft up-tempo ballad became one of Merchant's most catchy singles to date. The song barely made The Billboard Top 40 (peaking at number 38, though the song was not a massive hit on the charts, it was well received by her loyal fans. The song saw no edit from the original or remix. A commercial single of the song was never released due to the lack of airplay. 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 Top 100.
  • "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 of 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 third album. The single was released in November 2001. 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.

With 10,000 Maniacs

Samples

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Natalie Merchant.
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