Gillian Welch
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Gillian Welch (born October 1967) is a singer/songwriter whose musical style combines elements of bluegrass, neotraditional country, Americana, old time string band music and folk into a rustic style that she dubs "American Primitive". Her music is often described as haunting or soothing.
Biography and career
Welch was born in Manhattan and was adopted on the day she was born. She moved to Los Angeles at the age of four. By the age of seven, she had learned to play the guitar. Studying at the University of California, Santa Cruz Welch discovered bluegrass through the "mountain soul" stylings of The Stanley Brothers. After a short stint in a local band, Welch moved to Boston and studied at the Berklee College of Music. In Boston, Welch met and began dating David Rawlings, who would become her longtime musical partner. In 1992, they moved to Nashville and began building a career. In Nashville, she met T-Bone Burnett, producer to such artists as Los Lobos, Sam Phillips, Counting Crows, and Elvis Costello. In 1996, Welch released her first album, Revival, which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1997. Since then, she has recorded other albums and collaborated on the songs "Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby" and "I'll Fly Away" on the soundtrack of the Coen Brothers hit O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Welch has also collaborated with good friend and singer/songwriter Ryan Adams on the albums Heartbreaker and Destroyer.Trivia
- Welch's song Orphan Girl from the album Revival is covered by Emmylou Harris on the album Wrecking Ball.
- Orphan Girl was also recorded in 1994 by Tim and Mollie O'Brien on the album Away Out On The Mountain.
- Orphan Girl appears as "Orphan Child" on "Live at the Newburyport Firehouse" by Dry Branch Fire Squad.
- One More Dollar and Tear My Stillhouse Down were both recorded by The Nashville Bluegrass Band on their Unleashed album in 1995.
- The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band included "Dry Town", a song Welch wrote with David Rawlings, on their 1999 album Bang Bang Bang.
- Welch had a cameo appearance in the Coen Brothers movie O Brother, Where Art Thou, which featured two of her performances, as a girl in a record store trying to obtain a copy of the Soggy Bottom Boys' recording of "Man of Constant Sorrow".
Discography
- Revival, 1996
- Hell Among the Yearlings, 1998
- Time (The Revelator), 2001
- Soul Journey, 2003
Videography
- The Revelator Collection, DVD, 2002
External links
- [Official website]
- [New Yorker Article: How Gillian Welch and David Rawlings rediscovered country music.]
- [Gillian Welch Album Reviews]
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