Edie Brickell | |
|---|---|
 Brickell performing in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Edie Arlisa Brickell |
| Born | March 10, 1966 Dallas, Texas |
| Genres | Alternative rock, folk rock, jam rock, jangle pop, neo-psychedelia, bluegrass |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, guitarist |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Labels | Geffen |
| Member of |
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| Spouse(s) | |
Edie Arlisa Brickell (born March 10, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter widely known for 1988's Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went to No. 4 on the Billboard albums chart. She is married to singer-songwriter Paul Simon.
Brickell was born in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, to Larry Jean (Sellers) Linden and Paul Edward Brickell.[1][2] She was raised with her older sister, Laura Strain. She attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts[3] in Dallas, and later studied at Southern Methodist University[4] until she joined a band and decided to focus on songwriting.
In 1985, Brickell was invited to sing one night with friends from her high school in a local folk rock group, New Bohemians. She joined the band as lead singer. After the band was signed to a recording contract, the label changed the group's name to Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. Their 1988 debut album, Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, became a critical and commercial success, including the Top Ten single "What I Am". The band's follow-up album, Ghost of a Dog (1990), was a deliberate effort to highlight the band's eclectic personality and move away from the pop sound of their first record.[5]
The band sporadically played gigs after the album Ghost of a Dog in 1990, and in 2006 released Stranger Things.[6][7] In 2018 they announced their latest album, Rocket, along with dates for a US tour.[8] The band released their fifth studio album Hunter and the Dog Star in 2021 available on CD and vinyl.[9]
Brickell had a role as a folk singer in the 1989 film Born on the Fourth of July. Her version of Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" is featured on the film's soundtrack. She also sang a cover version of Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" in the 1990 film Flashback.
As a solo artist, Brickell released Picture Perfect Morning (1994) and Volcano (2003). The video for Picture Perfect Morning's "Good Times" was included as part of the multimedia samples featured on Microsoft's Windows 95 Companion CD-ROM.[10] In 1992, she worked with producer Bob Wiseman in New York and Toronto on a collection of songs, utilizing a wind ensemble, unusual keyboards, and Ron Sexsmith. The songs were rejected by the record company and remain unreleased.
In 2010, Brickell became a founding member of new band The Gaddabouts, consisting of Steve Gadd on drums, Edie Brickell as lead vocalist and guitar, Andy Fairweather Low on electric and acoustic guitars and background vocals, Pino Palladino on bass and guitar, and featuring Dan Block, Ronnie Cuber, Joey DeFrancesco, Gil Goldstein, and Marcus Rojas.[11] In 2011, Brickell wrote the title track, "The Meaning of Life", for Tamar Halpern's film, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life.
Love Has Come for You was released on April 23, 2013. The album is a collaboration with Steve Martin.[12] Both appeared on talk shows, such as The View and Late Show with David Letterman, to promote the album in April 2013.[13][14][15][16]
Starting in May 2013, she toured with Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers throughout North America.[17]
In 2016, the musical Bright Star – to which she contributed music, lyrics, and story[18] – opened on Broadway at the Cort Theatre.
In 2017, Brickell and Martin appeared in the documentary film The American Epic Sessions directed by Bernard MacMahon. They recorded "The Coo Coo Bird", a traditional English folk song,[19] live on the first electrical sound recording system from the 1920s.[20] The track appeared on the accompanying soundtrack, Music from The American Epic Sessions.
Brickell married singer-songwriter Paul Simon on May 30, 1992.[21] It was her first marriage and Simon's third. Brickell was performing "What I Am"[22][23] on NBC's Saturday Night Live on November 5, 1988, when she noticed Simon standing in front of the cameraman. "Even though I'd performed the song hundreds of times in clubs, he made me forget how the song went when I looked at him. We can show the kids the tape and say, 'Look, that's when we first laid eyes on each other.'" Brickell and Simon have three children, Adrian, Lulu, and Gabriel.[24][25]
